Palm Desert Braces For Heatwave: How Hot Will It Get This Weekend?

PALM DESERT, CA — Palm Desert and the rest of the Inland Empire will be boiling by the end of this week, with temperatures forecast to exceed 100 degrees in the Riverside metropolitan area over a four-day period. The mercury will top 110 in the Coachella Valley, according to the National Weather Service.

A ridge of high pressure settling over the Great Basin in Nevada and Utah is expected to influence weather patterns, super-heating the region from Thursday into early next week, according to NWS spokesperson Alexander Tardy.

"The resulting heat risk for inland areas of the warmer nights and warmer days will push the deserts close to Excessive Heat Warning criteria for Friday and Saturday, and possibly Sunday, and in the inland valleys to Heat Advisory criteria," Tardy said.

The heat wave is slated to linger into Monday or Tuesday of next week when the ridge is expected to give way to low-pressure troughs trundling in from the northwest.

Forecasters said monsoonal moisture and convective instability may raise the "potential for thunderstorms in the mountains" at the end of the week. Rain amounts were not mentioned.

In the Coachella Valley, the sizzle will span the entire week, with highs forecast to be above 110 from Monday to Sunday, and low temperatures generally hovering in the mid-80s.

In Riverside metro, high temps will settle in the mid-90s until Thursday, then cross the 100-degree mark Friday, through the weekend, and Monday, according to the NWS. Lows will be in the mid to upper 60s most of the week.

Forecast models indicated that the Temecula Valley cities in Southwest Riverside County will mostly escape triple digits, peaking in the low to mid-90s in the latter half of the week and through the weekend. Low temperatures are expected to drop nightly between 60 and 65 degrees.

Here is your forecast for the coming week and your full Palm Desert forecast from Accuweather:

Tuesday
Sunny and hot, with a high near 113. East wind 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 83. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.

Wednesday
Sunny and hot, with a high near 111. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 85.

Thursday
Sunny and hot, with a high near 111.

Thursday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 86.

Friday
Sunny and hot, with a high near 112.

Friday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 86.

Saturday
Sunny and hot, with a high near 113.

Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 86.