Daily temperature records around California continued to be broken this week as an unusual October heat wave scorched the state, with much of the state’s interior and even parts of the coast expected to get little relief over the next few days. hopefully.
Although the current heat wave peaked on Wednesday, the high pressure system that has been scorching much of the Southwest will strengthen again this weekend, according to Kyle Wheeler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, bringing a wave of warm temperatures. About two peaks will be formed. Temperatures will be between 4 and 8 degrees cooler across the Southland on Thursday and Friday – before potentially returning to warmer than average for this time of year. record breaking height again Saturday and Sunday.
“Warm temperatures will increase again Saturday,” the weather service’s Oxnard office said in its Thursday morning forecast. The Climate Prediction Center warns that heavy rain will be possible across much of Central and Southern California Dangerous heat this weekend, Temperature records are threatened with highs ranging from 90 to 110 degrees.
“Over the weekend, we’ll be back to those peak levels on both Saturday and Sunday,” Wheeler said. Extreme heat warnings have been issued for the Mohave Desert and Coachella Valley. extended to sunday And mondayWhile much of inland Southern California, including the mountains of Burbank and Los Angeles counties, is under an extreme heat watch for the weekend.
The warm temperatures have led some Californians to refer to this period as the “second summer”, especially on social media.
But Crystal Odette, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey, said that’s not really an accurate term, especially since the Bay Area and much of California often sees heat waves in September and October.
Asked about the idea of a “second summer,” Oudit said, “Technically it’s still a continuation of summer for us.”
“It’s very normal for us to take a break (from summer events),” he said.
He said the Bay Area typically sees its hottest temperatures in September, although the extension of this heat wave into early October — and the range of temperatures — makes it a little more rare.
In the last two days, there has been a record decline in daily heat across the state.
On Wednesday, the temperature reached 111 degrees in Woodland Hills, breaking the previous Oct. 2 record of 109 degrees set in 1991. At Palmdale Airport, it was 105 degrees, breaking the old record of 101 degrees set in 2020. Inland, temperatures reached 110. degrees in Lake Elsinore, breaking the record of 106 degrees set in 2012.
In Central CaliforniaFresno Yosemite International Airport set a daily record Wednesday when the temperature reached 102 degrees, breaking its previous record of 101 set in 1980. As did Merced, which reached 103 degrees, surpassing its 1905 high of 101.
In Northern California, several daily heat records were broken Wednesday, including at Stockton Airport, where it reached 105, breaking the old record of 101 set in 1952. And in Modesto, it reached 104, breaking the previous record of 99 degrees set in 2012.
Many areas also broke minimum temperature records, with the mercury never falling below 81 degrees in Indio on Wednesday, breaking the 1906 record of 71 minimum temperatures.
On Wednesday, Glamis, in eastern Imperial County, was the hottest place in the country, with temperatures reaching 114 degrees. Palm Springs and Indio tied for that spot at 117 degrees on Tuesday, according to National Weather Service.
The high of up to 117 degrees set a record for the hottest October day anywhere in the contiguous U.S., according to forecaster Tony Fracasso of the weather service’s Weather Prediction Center, though he said the determination is still preliminary. On October 2, 1980, the temperature reached 117 in Mecca, Riverside County, setting a record for the hottest day in October.
“We’re talking about temperatures that are not just hot because it’s a desert, but it’s hot because of the weather patterns,” said Alex Tardy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego. “This heat isn’t just in Southern California – it’s in Northern California, it’s in Nevada, it’s in Arizona. It has a big hold on the South West.
Record-breaking heat continues in Phoenix, which topped out on Wednesday daily temperature high at 108 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, following an October high of 113 degrees the day before. Las Vegas has repeatedly set records for the number of days at or above 100 degrees in a year, now at 107, surpassing the previous record set in 1947 by just a week.
Although San Francisco didn’t set any records, the temperature on Wednesday reached a high of 95 degrees, which is especially rare for the usually mild, coastal city, especially in October. According to Rachel Kennedy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey, temperatures in San Francisco have topped 90 degrees in October in only 31 of the past 150 years.
“This has definitely been our hottest days on the Coast this year,” Kennedy said, though he added that the Bay Area often sees its hottest weather in late summer and early fall.
Both Campano and Palm Springs recorded record highs for their respective cities for any October on Tuesday, with Campano reaching 105 degrees and Palm Springs reaching 117 degrees.
Dry, summer-like temperatures have also hampered firefighters’ efforts to contain three wildfires that broke out weeks ago in Southern California.
One of the most challenging has been the Line fire in the San Bernardino National Forest, where containment reached 83% on Sunday before the fire spiraled out of control and led to more evacuations as control declined. Crews are working to get the fire under control, and as of Thursday morning containment is at 79%. The fire has scorched 43,922 acres of land.
The area’s other major fires — the Bridge and Airport fires — were 98% and 96% contained, respectively, as of Thursday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
