Lake Elsinore Breaks 1926 Heat Record: NWS

Unseasonably warm weather and potentially record- setting high temperatures are expected in Riverside County again Wednesday and into next week as a ridge of high pressure remains parked over the region.

On Tuesday, a high of 88 degrees in Lake Elsinore topped by 2 degrees a previous record for a February 9, set in 1926, and a 71-degree high in Idyllwild was 1 degree higher than the prior record from 2006. A 91-degree high in Thermal and a high of 88 in Riverside tied records set in 1951 and 1988, respectively, according to the National Weather Service.

Summer-like conditions are expected to persist throughout Riverside County Wednesday as the mercury inches upward.

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High temperatures Wednesday were predicted to be 84 to 89 degrees in the valleys around Riverside, 72 to 78 degrees in the mountains, 81 to 86 degrees along the San Gorgonio Pass and around 87 degrees in the Coachella Valley.

“A high pressure ridge will continue over California for most of the coming week,” according to the weather service. “The offshore flow and associated foothill breezes will be diminished the next few mornings, but the warm and dry air mass will remain in place.”

Saturday is expected to be slightly cooler, but the high pressure ridge will rebound Sunday and Monday, again sending the mercury soaring. Forecasters said temperatures would continue to be “way above average” Wednesday into early next week and they would be “probably recording the highest in the nation.”

“Max temps will flirt with a few daily records Wednesday, Thursday and Monday,” according to the weather service.

More seasonable conditions and a slight chance of rain are expected Wednesday of next week, according to the NWS.

— By City News Service.