An Excessive Heat Warning, previously issued by the National Weather Service only for the San Gorgonio Pass, Coachella Valley, and desert areas to the east, will be expanded to include the Riverside metropolitan area and surrounding parts of western Riverside County.
It will be in effect from 10 a.m. Saturday to 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Forecasters cautioned that “dangerously hot conditions” will prevail, and residents should be alert to exposure impacts, including dehydration and heat stroke.
Meanwhile, temperatures were forecast to continue topping 100 degrees through next week after soaring into the triple digits throughout the Inland Empire on Friday.
“Temperatures are anywhere from a few degrees to as much as 12 degrees higher than Thursday,” the NWS said in a statement. “Temperatures will be on a general upward trend (going into early next week).”
A ridge of high pressure backing westward over the Four Corners region will influence weather patterns in the area through the weekend and into the start of the upcoming week, keeping conditions hot and dry.