Temperatures will be soaring into triple digits throughout the Inland Empire going into the weekend, with the mercury approaching 120 degrees in the Coachella Valley, prompting the National Weather Service to post a heat advisory.
The agency issued an excessive heat warning for the San Gorgonio Pass, Coachella Valley and desert areas to the east, beginning 10 a.m. Saturday and continuing to 11 p.m. Monday.
Forecasters cautioned that “dangerously hot conditions” will prevail in the locations, and residents should be alert to exposure impacts, including dehydration and heat stroke.
A ridge of high pressure backing westward toward the Four Corners region will influence weather patterns in the area from Friday to early next week, elevating temperatures.
The highs will range into the low 110s on Friday, then climb closer to 120 on Saturday, Sunday and Monday in Cabazon, Palm Springs, Thermal, Desert Center and parts farther east, according to the Weather Service. Lows will generally hover in the upper 80s from Friday to Monday.
In the Riverside metropolitan area, the high is forecast to reach 100 degrees on Friday and range into the low 100s Saturday to Monday, with lows in the low to mid-70s, meteorologists said.
Across the Temecula Valley and southwest county region, highs will also be at or just below 100 from Friday to Monday, with lows in the upper 60s.
Monsoonal moisture will persist Friday, with the possibility of scattered thunderstorms in desert locations and in the mountains near Idyllwild. But the high-pressure system will likely restrain thunderstorm development for most of the weekend and into early next week, according to the NWS.
