Warm week forecast for Merced

Weather forecasters are predicting another heat wave to scorch the Northern San Joaquin Valley this week, with high temperatures expected to reach the triple-digit mark on Wednesday.

The high temperature in the Merced area is forecast to reach 98 degrees Tuesday with a low overnight of about 69 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Hanford. But that’s just the beginning as the temperature starts to climb.

Forecasters expect Merced’s high temperature to reach 103 degrees Wednesday, and match or surpass that high on Thursday. There’s not much relief expected overnight with lows hovering around 70 degrees through the end of the week.

The highs are expected to cool slightly by the weekend, thanks to monsoonal winds coming up from the south, according to William Peterson, a meteorologist technician. “The moisture ebbs and flows throughout the summer months,” he said.

That moisture could mean partly clouded skies for the Valley floor and thunderstorms in the foothills, he said.

While 103 or 104 are not uncommon for Valley summers, he said, they are a few degrees above the average for this month.

Authorities ask those who have to be outside to slow down and drink plenty of water whenever temperatures cross the century mark.

This story was originally published July 27, 2015 at 4:32 PM with the headline "Warm week forecast for Merced."