Baking hot temperatures are forecast to maintain a grip on the Inland Empire through the weekend and into next week, forecasters said Saturday.
The intensifying heat prompted the National Weather Service to revise heat warnings and remind residents to take precautions while outdoors.
The agency said triple-digit daytime heat will be the norm throughout the region for at least the next several days. A Heat Advisory previously issued for the Riverside metropolitan area and the Anza and San Jacinto valleys was changed to an Extreme Heat Warning that will remain in place until 8 p.m. Monday.
The prior Extreme Heat Warning posted for the Coachella Valley has not changed, and will also be in effect until Monday evening.
“Heat-related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat events,” the NWS said in a statement. “Drink plenty of fluids, stay in air-conditioned rooms and stay out of the sun.”
Ridges of high pressure settling to the north and east will influence weather patterns into early next week, ratcheting up dry conditions. However, some moisture may also drag into the region due to monsoonal activity in Baja Mexico, generating instability and isolated thunderstorms in and around mountainous areas of the San Gorgonio Pass and lower Coachella Valley, according to prognostication charts.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently declared that an El Nino has developed in the Pacific, and is intensifying, raising sea temperatures well above average.
It has been attributed to the birth of Hurricane Fausto, currently tracking toward Hawaii as a Category 2 cyclone.
For Palm Springs, Indio, Rancho Mirage and adjacent spots, daytime highs will climb to at or above 115 for the remainder of the week. Lows will be in the low 90s until Sunday, the NWS said.
In the Riverside metropolitan area, temps will be in the low 100s until next Monday. Lows will generally settle in the low to mid 70s now through the weekend.
In the Temecula Valley, highs will rises into the upper 90s over the next few days. Lows will fall into the upper 60s each night, forecasters said.