Coachella Valley Flirting with Record Heat Midweek

One of the hottest days of the year across the Coachella Valley, with highs once again climbing into the 115-119 degree range today and Thursday—about 10 degrees above average for late August.

An Extreme Heat Warning remains in effect through 8 p.m. Friday, with very warm overnight lows in the low 90s increasing HeatRisk and little relief. Both overnight lows and daytime highs are flirting with daily records.

An Air Quality Alert or "Ozone Advisory" has been issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District as our strong ridge of high pressure continues to trap pollutants like ozone near the surface.

While extreme heat is the big storyline -- there's still a slight chance for an isolated afternoon thunderstorm over the mountains today and Friday, but the Valley should stay mostly dry.

Some relief is on the horizon a gradual cooling trend kicks off next week, returning us to near seasonal averages.

Looking farther ahead, we're keeping an eye on the potential for tropical moisture to increase clouds and possibly rain chances Tuesday or Wednesday—but that system hasn't even developed yet, so there's still plenty of uncertainty in forecast models.