Maximum temperatures are expected to reach at least 100 to 120 degrees across California except along the coast, increasing the risk of heat-related illness and death. Those temperatures could also strain power grids.
The weather service’s 0-4 heat risk scale is expected to reach level 4 “extreme” over large areas of inland California as well as southern Nevada.
In southern and northern California, weather service offices are issuing heat alerts extending 200 hours into the future, the longest period on record.
“Expect major heat risks, even in the mountains,” the weather service office in Reno, Nevada, wrote. “Take this one seriously.”
Death Valley, which holds the record for the highest temperature ever measured on the planet, is forecasting maximum temperatures of 127, 129, 131, 131, 132, 131 and 129 between Friday and Thursday, which would mark its hottest streak on record. It likely won’t reach its world record maximum temperature of 134, set in 1913, although questions remain about the reliability of that measurement. In 2020 and 2021, it reached 130 degrees, the highest temperature reliably observed in modern records, which could be surpassed in the coming days.
Here’s a quick look at how hot it could get in 12 cities across the western United States by early next week.
Redding, California: Heat Alert and High Temperature Forecast of 47°C
It’s already 43°C in this northern California city. Its all-time high of 48°C could be threatened in the coming days. Even the summit of Mount Shasta, which rises to more than 4,200 meters, is under a heat advisory.
- Friday: 117 maximum
- Saturday: 119 maximum / 74 minimum
- Sunday: 114 maximum / 76 minimum
- Monday: 112 maximum / 76 minimum
Sacramento: Heat alert and maximum temperature forecast of 43°C
Much like in Redding, the heat will be extreme and unrelenting, while the scorching sun may be mitigated only by haze from wildfires.
- Friday: 110 degrees maximum
- Saturday: 111 maximum / 68 minimum
- Sunday: 106 maximum / 67 minimum
- Monday: 104 maximum / 65 minimum
San Francisco: Expected maximum temperature of 77 degrees
Downtown San Francisco, surrounded on three or four sides by the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean, is expected to be spared from the heat. Highs are expected to reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius). However, heat advisories and excessive heat warnings surround the city, with temperatures in the triple digits, except in the west where immediate coastal areas could reach as low as 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius).
- Friday: 77 degrees maximum
- Saturday: 77 maximum / 55 minimum
- Sunday: 74 maximum / 54 minimum
- Monday: 72 maximum / 54 minimum
Fresno, California: Heat Alert and High Temperature Forecast of 44°C
Scorching heat is expected throughout California’s Central Valley. Near the southern end, Fresno is enjoying endless sunshine and highs between 110 and 115 degrees. The fire threat is also high due to several ongoing wildfires.
- Friday: 110 degrees maximum
- Saturday: 113 maximum / 79 minimum
- Sunday: 113 maximum / 80 minimum
- Monday: 112 maximum / 79 minimum
Santa Barbara, California: Heat Alert and High Temperature Forecast of 99°F
The proximity to the coast will offer some relief, but maximum temperatures are still expected to climb to 32°C. Some fog could occasionally moderate the heat slightly.
- Friday: 99 maximum
- Saturday: 91 maximum / 67 minimum
- Sunday: 94 maximum / 63 minimum
- Monday: 95 maximum / 62 minimum
Los Angeles: Heat Advisory and Expected High Temperature of 98°C
The vast Los Angeles metropolitan area will see highs ranging from 70 degrees on the coast to nearly 105 degrees inland.
- Friday: 98 degrees maximum
- Saturday: 91 maximum / 72 minimum
- Sunday: 90 maximum / 70 minimum
- Monday: 91 maximum / 68 minimum
Palm Springs, California: Heat Alert and High Temperature of 120
Palm Springs will experience daily highs near 120, with lows around 90.
- Friday: 118 degrees maximum
- Saturday: 118 maximum / 90 minimum
- Sunday: 118 maximum / 89 minimum
- Monday: 120 maximum / 90 minimum
San Diego: maximum temperature of 80 degrees
It’s one of the few places in Southern California to escape the heat, with highs near 80 degrees in the following days. However, temperatures quickly rise to 110 degrees in the Inland Empire and near 120 degrees in the deserts.
- Friday: 79 maximum
- Saturday: 79 maximum / 67 minimum
- Sunday: 80 maximum / 67 minimum
- Monday: 78 maximum / 67 minimum
Las Vegas: Heat alert and maximum temperature of 46 °C
Sin City could threaten its all-time high of 117 starting Sunday, while overnight lows will only dip into the mid-80s to around 90.
- Friday: 113 degrees maximum
- Saturday: 113 maximum / 86 minimum
- Sunday: 117 maximum / 86 minimum
- Monday: 116 maximum / 88 minimum
Reno, Nevada: Heat Warning and High Temperature of 103°F
At about 4,500 feet, nestled in a valley at the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada, Reno is expected to see highs of 100 to 105 until further notice.
- Friday: 100 high
- Saturday: 103 maximum / 67 minimum
- Sunday: 103 maximum / 69 minimum
- Monday: 103 maximum / 68 minimum
Portland, Oregon: Heat Warning and High Temperature of 103
The heat will intensify Friday and remain intense at least through early next week. “This heat wave will likely be remembered more for its duration than its intensity,” the weather service office in Portland wrote. It warned that high nighttime temperatures in urban areas will make conditions “particularly dangerous.”
- Friday: 100 high
- Saturday: 101 maximum / 67 minimum
- Sunday: 103 maximum / 72 minimum
- Monday: 103 maximum / 68 minimum
Seattle: Heat advisory and high temperature of 104 degrees
Even up north, in the Pacific Northwest, it’s hot. Seattle will see several days of 90-degree temperatures, with mostly sunny weather. East of the Cascade Mountains, where heat warnings are in effect, temperatures will exceed the century mark.
- Friday: 88 maximum
- Saturday: 89 maximum / 62 minimum
- Sunday: 92 maximum / 64 minimum
- Monday: 94 maximum / 65 minimum
