California is waiting for a heat wave.
The Golden State has recently been stuck in cloudier and colder than usual weather, a stark contrast to the extreme heat gripping much of the country. The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported that the city still hadn’t hit 70 degrees this month, only the third time in a century that June has been this cool.
But warmer conditions are on the way. A high pressure system forming over the Pacific and moving into the western US is expected to raise temperatures in California beginning today, with the highest readings expected over the weekend.
Much of the state will be affected, with meteorologists from Eureka TO The Angels TO San Diego warning of hot and dry weather in the coming days. The Central Valley will feel the heat the most.
Sacramento is expected to post its first triple-digit temperature of the year on Friday. Bakersfield, Madeira and Merced could all exceed 105 degrees and Fresno could hit 109 on Saturday, said Jessica Chiari, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s San Joaquin Valley office in Hanford.
It will be a marked change from the recent run of daily highs that were 10 degrees below normal for the region, Chiari said, adding that once the heat arrives, it’s unlikely to abate for several days.
« Right now, it looks like we’re going to have pretty consistent triple-digit temperatures here into next week, » he told me.
The heat isn’t expected to break records, but it will pose unusually high risks for Californians, experts say. The suddenness of the change means that many people are not yet used to a warmer climate and will be at greater risk of heatstroke and heat exhaustion.
« It’s going to be hotter than it is, obviously, because it’s been so cold lately, » Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, he told reporters on Monday. “The transition will seem quite sudden. It’s not that humans can’t handle 90 or 100 degrees. It’s that if you go from cold temperatures to 100 degrees quickly, then you potentially have other problems.
Swain and other experts recommend taking extra precautions to stay hydrated and cool, and to keep an eye out for signs of heat-related illness. You can read more about staying safe in extreme heat here.
Experts also warn that the heat wave will make fireworks even more dangerous in our already wildfire-prone state. More fires are started on July 4th than on any other day, Swain said.
The National Weather Service office in Los Angeles warned: ‘Increasing heat and drought will increase weather concerns and any spark from the fireworks could easily start a fire in the tall grass crop that has healed and turned brown. in the last weeks ».
In some parts of the state, temperatures could drop again soon enough.
National Weather Service forecasts for next two weeks shows temperatures along the coast that will be around the seasonal average and temperatures slightly above average inland. Even so, the long-term forecast for July to September shows hotter than normal temperatures statewide.
For more:
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See how hot it will be in your region this week.
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Learn how to stay safe in California’s roaring rivers this summer.
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A teenager and his stepfather hiking in Big Bend National Park in Texas died last week as temperatures soared to 119 degrees.
Where are we travelling
Today’s tip comes from Sophie Tivona:
“My favorite place to visit in California is Alley Temescal in Oakland. It’s a hidden little oasis off Telegraph Avenue that has a collection of small shops run by micro-business owners. You can shop from people who actually make the items in their stores: clothes, ice cream, stationery, jewelry. There’s even an old-school barber shop and record store! The Alley also includes two beautiful secret garden courtyards that serve burgers and bagels on the weekends. It’s a real gem in Oakland, surrounded by amazing restaurants – you could spend the whole day here!”
Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We will share more in future editions of the newsletter.
Tell us
We are almost halfway through 2023! What are the best things that have happened to you so far this year? What were your victories? Or your unexpected joys, big or small?
Tell me at CAtoday@nytimes.com. Enter your full name and the city where you live.
And before you go, some good news
A baby red-tailed hawk has been adopted by a pair of eagles in Northern California. USA Today reports.
Red-tailed hawks make calls similar to those of eaglets. The eagles most likely heard the baby hawk’s call and returned the bird to their nest as prey for their own eaglet, the news reports.
But then they started raising the falcon like them.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. —Soumya
PS Here Today’s mini crossword.
Briana Scalia and Allison Honors contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com.
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