A brief reprieve before heat increases for the weekend

A broad ridge of high pressure is building in across the Southern U.S. which will start to increase temps into the weekend. This has brought much of the moisture we felt earlier this week off to the east as well. The lack of moisture is allowing for higher temperatures across the region.

In anticipation of that increased heat, an Excessive Heat Watch will be in place from Saturday morning through Monday evening. We are anticipating this watch to be upgraded to a warning in the coming days.

An Excessive Heat Warning is in place from Eastern Riverside County all the way to Tucson, AZ.

Today and tomorrow, highs remain sightly above the seasonal average (109°F) but we start to see that increased heat by Saturday. Temperatures close to 115° are expected over the weekend and early next week, before tapering back off to the seasonal average.