Heat Advisory in Place with Triple Digit Temps

By City News Service, image via Shutterstock

Daytime temperatures in the Coachella Valley and along the San Gorgonio Pass in the Banning area are expected to soar into the triple digits today and throughout the week as high pressure gradually drifts across Southern California.

A National Weather Service heat advisory is scheduled to take effect at noon and extend until 7 p.m. Sunday. Highs between 107 and 112 degrees were forecast today for the San Gorgonio Pass, along with highs of 110 to 115 degrees in the Coachella Valley.

“High pressure aloft will gradually drift across Southern California through next weekend, bringing a prolonged period of very hot days in the lower deserts,” according to the weather service. “High temperatures will range from 110 to 115 each day.”

Coachella Valley residents and those along the pass were advised to avoid strenuous outdoor activity, keep nonalcoholic and noncaffeinated drinks on hand and wear lightweight loose clothing and a hat. Forecasters urged residents to take advantage of air conditioned areas and warned that kids, the elderly and pets should not be left in enclosed vehicles.

Forecasters said gradual cooling was expected to begin next week as the high pressure drifts off to the east.

In the meantime, residents of the Coachella Valley and the Banning area will have to cope not just with high heat but also with foul air. In both areas, as well as in Hemet and Lake Elsinore, air quality today will be unhealthful for sensitive groups, including asthma sufferers, said the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The rest of Riverside County will be breathing air in the moderate range today.