July 4 Forecast for Murrieta: Cooler Temps Expected

Though hot weather continues to blanket Murrieta and the Inland Empire, weather forecasters say some relief may be in sight come the holiday weekend.

A National Weather Service heat advisory for Riverside County, other than mountain areas higher than 6,000 feet, is set to expire Wednesday at 8 p.m.

In the forecast for Wednesday were highs of 99 to 104 degrees in the valleys around Riverside, 94 to 103 degrees in the mountains, 109 to 114 degrees along the San Gorgonio Pass near Banning and 112 to 117 degrees in the Coachella Valley.

"One more very hot day is on tap away from the coast today, then gradually becoming cooler into the weekend, with a slowly building marine layer," according to the weather service. "Drier air will reduce thunderstorm activity to only over the higher mountains of San Bernardino County, then with no further activity expected for the remainder of the week."

Forecasters said temperatures are expected to lower into the weekend. Saturday and Sunday will likely the coolest days with temperatures generally closer to normal.

Here's the full forecast for Murrieta through the July 4 holiday, as provided by the National Weather Service:

This Afternoon
Sunny, with a high near 99. South wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Tonight
Mostly clear, with a low around 63. South wind 10 to 15 mph becoming light after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.

Thursday
Sunny, with a high near 94. Light and variable wind becoming south 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.

Thursday Night
Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 61. South wind 10 to 15 mph becoming light after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.

Friday
Patchy fog before noon. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Light south wind becoming southwest 10 to 15 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.

Friday Night
Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 59.

Saturday
Patchy fog before noon. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 86.

Saturday Night
Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 58.

Sunday
Patchy fog before noon. Otherwise, partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 88.

Sunday Night
Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, increasing clouds, with a low around 59.

Independence Day
Patchy fog. Otherwise, partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 90.

Monday Night
Patchy fog. Otherwise, increasing clouds, with a low around 60.

For area residents headed to the beach to seek some cooler weather, the NWS is warning of strong rip current conditions through Friday evening.

— City News Service contributed to this report.