The intense summer heat gripping the Inland Empire for the past week will briefly let up — only to return with equal or greater intensity by the weekend, forecasters said Monday.
The National Weather Service said Monday the next round of broiling heat will begin Thursday and continue into Sunday, with extreme heat advisories and warnings likely within the next couple of days.
Meteorologists said ridges of high pressure currently building to the east and north will squeeze between weak low pressure troughs in the desert Southwest and, like last week, strongly influence weather patterns throughout the inland region and elsewhere.
“This will bring significantly warmer conditions to Southern California,” the Weather Service said Monday. “We are likely to see the highest temperatures so far this summer. Models indicate that Saturday will likely be the hottest day, with daytime temperatures ranging from five to 10 degrees above normal in the coastal areas, to about 15 degrees above normal in parts of the inland valleys and deserts.”
The Coachella Valley and desert communities to the east are forecast to top out at or just above 120 degrees from Friday to Sunday, with lows in the low 90s. Meantime, in the days leading up to that period, the mercury will gradually climb, from around 110 to 115 degrees daily, and lows in the upper 80s.
For the Riverside metropolitan area, weekend temps will peak between 105 and 110 degrees, dropping into the low 70s during the nighttime hours. Meanwhile, daytime temps from Monday to Thursday will generally reach the upper 90s, with lows in the upper 60s.
In the Temecula Valley, a similar temperature band is forecast, though slightly cooler, with highs around 100 Friday to Sunday, followed by lows in the mid 60s. From Monday to Thursday, temps valley-wide will hover in the low to mid 90s, bottoming out in the low 60s overnight.
The acute heat prompted NWS warnings part of last week and through this past weekend.
The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration in June declared that an El Nino had developed in the Pacific and was intensifying, raising sea temperatures well above average.
Two hurricanes have already formed — Fausto, which is set to fade into a tropical storm as it nears Hawaii, and Genevieve, which just recently reached category 5 status more than 500 miles west of the Mexican coast, rotating out to sea.