A weeklong heat wave will get underway Friday in San Diego County, sending temperatures into the 90s near the coast and above 100 across inland valleys and foothills, raising the threat of wildfire in a region that hasn’t had significant rain since June, the National Weather Service says.
The initial part of the hot spell will be produced by a combination of high pressure and mild Santa Ana winds that will peak on Saturday. Wind gusts of 25 mph to 40 mph are expected inland, with periodic gusts of up to 50 mph in the mountains.
“Winds are expected to diminish after Sunday,” the weather service says. “There could be additional periods of mostly weak offshore flow next week.”
Forecasters project that Saturday’s high temperature will hit 103 in El Cajon and Ramona, 102 in Escondido, 97 in Mira Mesa and Alpine, 93 in Oceanside, and 92 in San Diego, where the average seasonal high is 76.
The air will cool some, but “we’ll have this warm weather late into next week,” said Kyle Wheeler, a weather service forecaster.
In response to the heat wave, California’s grid operator is working to help maximize the available power supply and transmission capacity.