Incoming three-day heat wave likely to break records

Spring just arrived, but hot, record-breaking temperatures are about to take over.

Temperatures nearing the 90s are expected in Merced County today, Friday and Saturday. According to the National Weather Service in Hanford, a large dome of high pressure moving into the region is to blame.

Today’s high is expected to reach 85 degrees, 10 degrees above the previous record high for this date, set in 2013.

On Friday, which is expected to be the warmest day of the week, temperatures are forecast to reach 88 degrees. The record for this date, also set in 2013, is 76 degrees.

Saturday’s high is expected to hit 82, two degrees above the previous record for the date, set in 2009. Records kept by the National Weather Service for Merced County date to Aug. 1, 1998.

But the three-day heat wave will not be unique to Merced. Areas such as Fresno and Bakersfield are also expected to break records. By Friday, both cities will hit 91 degrees.

Meteorologist David Spector said warm temperatures are likely throughout the rest of the state, except at the coast.

“We’ve been running 15 to 20 degrees above normal,” Spector said of the current warm-weather patterns.

Spector said temperatures should cool down late Saturday and Sunday, but the dry conditions will continue. No rain is anticipated for the remainder of the month.

The area has received only 0.19 inches of rain, when the average for this date is 1.74 inches. For the season, which starts Oct. 1, the average precipitation amount is 10.20 inches. So far this season, the total is just 6.01 inches.

The last time Merced County received some precipitation was during storms on March 2 and March 11.

But a dry and hot early spring does not necessarily signify dry conditions for the rest of the rainfall season. Spector said in the past 15 years, he knows of three years when a dry March turned into a wet April.

Snowpack levels in the Sierra Nevada are also far below what’s typical for this time of year – at only 10 percent of normal, Spector said.

According to the National Weather Service, temperatures will drop to the low 80s by Sunday and Monday. Wind gusts of up 15 mph are also expected Saturday and Sunday.

This story was originally published March 25, 2015 at 8:22 PM with the headline "Incoming three-day heat wave likely to break records."