Riverside County is in the grips of a record-setting heat wave Saturday as an unseasonable extended hot spell blanketed Southern California.
“Daily record highs will be broken in several locations,” said the National Weather Service. “A return of onshore flow will bring some cooling to the coastal basin over the weekend, but temps will remain above average nonetheless.
The mercury will soar across the Inland Empire over the next week, setting records and prompting officials to caution against strenuous outdoor activity during the hottest periods.
“Drink plenty of fluids, stay in air-conditioned rooms and stay out of the sun (during peak heat),” the agency said.
Riverside County officials did not anticipate opening cooling centers during the heat surge this week because it was not forecast to continue for multiple consecutive days. However, after a pause in the sizzle this weekend, another round of record-breaking heat was expected next week.
Saturday high temperatures will be 82 to 88 in the valleys and Inland Empire, 73 to 83 in the mountains and 94 to 97 in the Coachella Valley. Southwest winds of up to 15 mph, with gusts up to 30 mph are expected in the afternoon.
“High temperatures on Tuesday will be as much as 25 to 30 degrees above average for the mountains, inland valleys and high desert, with high temperatures ranging from around 80 near the coast to the mid 90s to 102 for the inland valleys, with the lower deserts reaching 102 to 106,” according to the Weather Service. “Some locations in the lower deserts could exceed their all-time record high temperatures for March.”
Forecasters as well as charts published at aviationweather.gov indicated high pressure patterns will largely dominate the climate over California and neighboring states for at least the next seven days. The ridges will blow moisture out of the inland region, likely knocking humidity levels down to the single digits.
From Sunday to Wednesday, daytime temps will jump back into the mid- to upper-90s, with lows generally in the upper-50s or low 60s.
By comparison, during the same time last year, the area highs peaked in the upper 50s to low 60s, according to temperature charts.
For the Coachella Valley, elevated temps will be summer-like through the weekend and into the middle of next week, holding in the upper 90s and likely rising into the triple digits by Monday, with lows in the low to mid 70s, forecasters said.
In the Temecula Valley, the temperature band will be almost identical to the Riverside area through next week, daytime temps will be two to three degrees cooler, with lows in the low to mid 50s.