Heat wave across the state sets temperature records

A long-duration heat wave has tied or broken 96 daily temperature records across California in July, based on preliminary record event reports from the National Weather Service as of Monday afternoon.

Some climate sites logged their highest temperatures ever, highlighted in red in the map at right. Palm Springs hit 124 degrees on July 4, reaching an all-time high since records began in 1922. The previous record of 123 had occurred four times.

Palmdale reached 115 on July 6, an all-time high since records began in 1931. Redding hit 119 the same day, breaking the record of 118 set a day earlier.

A handful of locations tied alltime records, including BarstowDagett, Bishop, Idyllwild, Lancaster and Ukiah, shown at right in yellow.

The heat hasn’t just been intense; it’s also lingered. Palmdale logged four days in a row with temperatures reaching at least 110 degrees, making for the longest consecutive stretch going back to 1931. Lancaster also faced four consecutive days of 110-plus degree heat, the most in a row since records began in 1945.

Many locations across the state recorded their highest temperatures for a given calendar date. Of the nearly 100 temperature records reported by the National Weather Service in the past week, 60 were for such record daily highs.

In the Bay Area, daily temperature records were set in Kentfield, Oakland Museum, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, Livermore and San Francisco International Airport.

A few locations in Southern California have also logged record warm overnight temperatures, meaning little relief from sweltering daytime heat. Fresno faced multiple days in a row with temperatures staying over 80 degrees. Human-caused climate change is making nights warm even more dramatically than daytime temperatures, scientists say.

Additional temperature records could be set this week. Excessive heat warnings and heat advisories remain in effect across California through Friday.

“We are still in the middle of a long-duration, dangerous heat event,” said Courtney Carpenter, a meteorologist with National Weather Service Sacramento, during a briefing Monday. “We will see temperatures slightly cooler today (Monday) and Tuesday but very hot weather returns again from mid- to late this week.”