Hottest June day ever? Sacramento heat will ‘almost certainly’ break some records
Dangerous, likely record-setting heat will blister the Sacramento Valley this week, with two consecutive days above 105 degrees forecast near the capital.
The National Weather Service has moved up an excessive heat warning by one day, now beginning Wednesday afternoon rather than Thursday morning, but still set to last through 9 p.m. Saturday.
Forecasters warn that the Sacramento Valley, northern San Joaquin Valley and adjacent foothills could see high temperatures ranging from 100 to 113 degrees, peaking Thursday and Friday.
NWS forecasts as of midday Tuesday showed Sacramento expected to hit 110 degrees Thursday and 106 on Friday. Nighttime lows will likely cool to the mid or upper 60s.
The record for downtown Sacramento on Thursday’s date, June 17, is 102 degrees. That was set in 1976.
“We will almost certainly break that record,” NWS Sacramento meteorologist Craig Shoemaker said.
Shoemaker said it’s possible Thursday could break or tie the city’s record for the hottest June day, 112 degrees, which was set June 30, 1934.
Friday’s 106 forecast is also expected to tie a daily record set in 2017.
“I’m really urging people to try and stay indoors and not be outside during the peak heating hours, which is gonna be between about 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.” Shoemaker said. “If you have to go outdoors, you wanna make sure you’re well-hydrated.”
The heat wave comes due to a high pressure building over deserts in the Southwest, according to the NWS heat warning bulletin.
“It’s an usually strong area of high pressure,” Shoemaker said. “We had an unusually strong trough that was over us last week, with the below-normal temperatures.”
Average highs this time of year near Sacramento are about 88 degrees, meaning Thursday’s swelter would be 22 degrees above normal for mid-June.
If there’s any silver lining, it’s that NWS has not issued any wildfire weather warnings. Though fire starts remain possible, winds are expected to remain fairly calm, below 10 mph in the valley.
“Relative humidities are going to be less than 10%,” Shoemaker said. “Anytime it gets that dry, there is a risk of some fire starts. It’d be mostly grass fires down in the valley that we’d be concerned about. But luckily, we’re not expecting any strong winds” in the Sacramento area, he said.
Shoemaker said the “next period of possible relief” would be next Monday and Tuesday, when highs are expected to drop back into the 90s or possibly upper 80s.
He said there may even be a Delta breeze to offer extra relief Tuesday.
