Heat Advisory Issued for Inland Empire for Fourth Consecutive Day

Portions of Riverside County will be under a heat advisory for a fourth consecutive day Friday as a late-summer heat wave continues to drive temperatures in some areas well into the triple digits.

Warmer than average overnight temperatures and punishing humidity were already prevalent in some areas early Friday.

“It is another warm morning across Southern California unless you are fortunate enough to be in the mountains where temperatures are in the 50s and 60s, according to the National Weather Service. “Elsewhere temperatures at 2 a.m. were in the mid-70s to low 80s, with a few of the inland valleys dipping into the low 70s.”

Highs of 96 to 101 degrees are forecast Friday for the valleys around Riverside, 87 to 93 degrees in the mountains and 101 to 106 along the San Gorgonio Pass and 102 to 107 degrees in the Coachella Valley.

A slight chance of afternoon and early evening thunderstorms stemming from monsoonal moisture is also in the forecast. The weather service pegged the chance at measurable precipitation at 20 percent in the valleys, along the San Gorgonio Pass and in the Coachella Valley, and 40 percent in the mountains.

A heat advisory for the valleys around Riverside County is scheduled to expire at 6 p.m.

“High pressure aloft will continue hot daytime weather today,” according to the weather service. “Temperatures will be 5 to 10 degrees above normal.”

On Thursday, no high temperature records were set in Riverside County, but the low of 76 degrees in the city of Riverside was 4 degrees higher than the previous record for a Sept. 10, set in 2012. A low temperature of 84 degrees in Palm Springs tied a record for the day, set in 1997.

Forecasters again urged people to protect themselves and their loved ones against dehydration, heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses. Residents were advised to stay well-hydrated, avoid working in the sun, check on neighbors and relatives -- especially the elderly -- and provide plenty of water to pets and livestock.

Authorities also warned against leaving children or pets in parked cars, which can rapidly become death traps amid such pronounced heat.

Cooler weather is expected to kick in over the weekend and continue into next week, forecasters said.

• --City News Service, photo courtesy of the NWS