Southwestern US sizzles: Heat wave to persist through weekend
Temperatures are expected to climb, challenging or breaking daily record highs in cities like Phoenix, and Las Vegas, with parts of California’s interior and coastal areas also experiencing extreme heat.
A significant heat wave will continue to bake the southwestern United States through this weekend in many areas and into the early part of the new week across the interior, AccuWeather meteorologists say.
An area of high pressure will continue to suppress the marine influence in coastal areas of California and cause temperatures over the interior to skyrocket.
While no record highs are forecast to be set in San Francisco, daytime highs will trend upward through the 80s to lower 90s F this weekend.
Farther south, highs at or above 90 are projected for downtown Los Angeles for Sunday and Monday, with 100-degree-plus temperatures in store for the Inland Empire.
Temperatures will challenge daily record highs in Sacramento, California, and generally tie or break record highs in Fresno, California, into early this week.
In the deserts, "Phoenix has broken or tied a daily record high for ten days in a row as of Thursday," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said, "On Tuesday, Phoenix set an all-time October higher temperature record of 113, breaking the old record of 110 set on the first day of the month in 2020." Records date back to 1896.
Daily record highs are forecast to be challenged or broken in Phoenix right through the middle of the week.
Las Vegas has also set many daily record highs during the heat wave and will rack up many more into the early week with highs near or just above 100 through Monday.
This week, the jet stream will shift enough to allow more of a traditional cooling effect from the Pacific in coastal areas, taking the edge off the extreme heat over the California and Nevada deserts. Very hot conditions may hold on a bit longer farther to the east over the deserts.
Experts say people should properly hydrate during extended periods of hot weather, no matter the location or time of year. Additionally, they should avoid strenuous exercise during the peak heating of the day, which occurs from midday through the afternoon.
Widespread extreme heat has taken hold across the Desert Southwest this October.
Any time there are extended periods of dry weather, sunshine and soaring temperatures, the risk of wildfires increases substantially, even in light wind situations. The brush is typically tinder-dry by the autumn as it has had all summer to turn from green to dormant brown.
People are urged to use caution with outdoor flames and power equipment. Never pull a vehicle over dry brush, as the hot exhaust system can be enough to start a fire.
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