Hundreds of thousands of people across Southern California’s desert regions were urged to limit outdoor activity and remain indoors for an extended period after the National Weather Service (NWS) issued extreme heat watches ahead of a prolonged spell of dangerous temperatures expected to begin this weekend.
Forecasters warned that a roughly 60-hour stretch of intense heat could push afternoon highs well above 100 degrees from Sunday through at least Monday night, and in some areas into Tuesday evening, increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses. The alerts cover large portions of Imperial County, the Salton Sea region, the Coachella Valley, San Diego County deserts and the San Gorgonio Pass near Banning, areas home to an estimated 450,000 residents.
“The second surge of summerlike heat this spring is returning to the West,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tyler Roys told Newsweek. “Temperatures will climb 20 to 30 degrees in just a few days, which can catch people off guard. Phoenix, Las Vegas and Fresno could see their first 100-degree day of the year, with some daily records challenged. This is unusual heat for May, but it is not as extreme as the March heat wave.”
California Extreme Heat: What to Know
In western Imperial County and around the Salton Sea, the NWS office in Phoenix said temperatures could climb to between 105 and 112 degrees during the afternoons from Sunday morning through Monday evening. Meteorologists classified the threat as a “Major Heat Risk,” warning that the combination of high temperatures and prolonged exposure could quickly become dangerous, even for people accustomed to desert heat…