Heat returns for Labor Day as Marie weakens; hotter, humid week ahead
The clouds are breaking up, the showers are gone, and the desert is getting back to business this Labor Day. After a cooler, damp Sunday courtesy of Hurricane Marie, the Coachella Valley climbs back into the triple digits today and keeps climbing through the middle of the week.
The National Weather Service says any lingering showers wrapped up before sunrise as the last of Marie's moisture drifts out of the region. Expect a partly cloudy start with skies clearing through the afternoon. Highs land between 101 and 104 across the valley, right around normal for early September. West winds pick up this afternoon with gusts near 30 mph, so keep that in mind for the pool and the barbecue.
The catch is the humidity. Dew points are still running well above what the desert is used to, and the weather service says overnight lows stay balmy with humidity above average. Palm Springs could see a heat index of 105 degrees or higher this afternoon even with the thermometer sitting in the low 100s. Lows tonight only drop to the upper 70s and low 80s.
As of 2 a.m. Monday, Marie is no longer a hurricane. The National Hurricane Center downgraded her to a tropical storm with sustained winds of 65 mph, centered about 700 miles southwest of San Diego and moving northwest at 8 mph. She never posed a direct threat to California, and forecasters expect her to fall apart into a post-tropical remnant low by Wednesday, possibly sooner.
Her swell is another story. A High Surf Advisory and Coastal Flood Advisory stay in effect through 11 p.m. Tuesday for Orange County and San Diego County beaches, with surf of 6 to 10 feet on south-facing beaches and strong rip currents. If your holiday plans include the coast, respect the water.
Most valley cities picked up between a tenth and two-tenths of an inch Sunday, according to News Channel 3's First Alert Weather team. The mountains, the High Desert and communities west of the San Gorgonio Pass saw more.
A ridge of high pressure builds over Southern California through midweek, and the weather service expects highs to climb above average by Tuesday and peak Wednesday. Tuesday runs 104 to 107. Wednesday and Thursday push the valley into the 105 to 108 range, and forecasters say the hottest spots in the lower deserts could reach 110. Add the leftover humidity and the heat index will run higher than the number on the thermometer.
Some of Marie's moisture hangs around long enough to keep a slight chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms over the mountains and nearby deserts Tuesday through Thursday. Odds in the valley itself stay low, but a stray mountain storm could throw some clouds and an outflow gust our way late in the day.
By Friday and into next weekend, a trough moves in, pushes the moisture east, and brings a gradual cooldown with drier, breezier conditions. Highs ease back toward the low 100s by Saturday.
