Dangerous Heat Peaks Thursday, Daytime Records Possible
Get ready for another blast of desert heat—as high temperatures climb bringing relentless dangerous heat across the valley late week. Your First Alert Weather Team has issued a First Alert: Weather Alert for Wednesday morning through Friday night.
This spike in high temps is courtesy of high pressure over the southwest—expanding west from New Mexico and will build across the region through the end of the week. This will lead to temps 5-10 degrees above normal for most locations away from the coast and pushing daytime highs across the Coachella Valley to near 115-118° by Thursday—expected to be the peak of this heatwave. We’ll likely break daytime high records Thursday. The current record for Palm Springs is 116°.
An Extreme Heat Warning is in effect Wednesday morning through Friday evening for the entire Coachella Valley, and a Heat Advisory for areas west of the mountains—excluding the coast. Nighttime lows will struggle to cool below the 80s and low 90s, which means we’re not going to see much overnight relief.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District has also issued an Air Quality Alert for most of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties through Wednesday evening.
We could see some small changes Friday and Saturday, when models show the high potentially moving slightly east. That shift could bring in some low-level monsoonal moisture—no precipitation likely, but enough to bump up the humidity. That means it could feel even hotter with sticky, oppressive conditions building through the weekend.
A gradual “cooldown” is on the horizon by the weekend into next week as the ridge weakens. However, temps will likely only dip a few degrees in the desert—still toasty, just… less so. Expect a more seasonal pattern to return to most areas outside the low desert.
REMEMBER: Triple-digit heat is here to stay—plan accordingly, and don’t forget to practice heat safety: find air-conditioned spaces, stay hydrated, and avoid strenuous activity during peak afternoon heat.
