The roughly 750,000 people who live east of Interstate 15 in San Diego County will be under an excessive heat warning through Tuesday night due a stubborn heat wave that could topple temperature records and lower air quality, the National Weather Service said.
Temperatures rose significantly on Friday. Through 4 p.m. San Diego International Airport hit 77 while Santee got to 91 and Borrego Springs reached 113.
Forecasters said the heat wave will peak on Saturday and Sunday when Ramona hits 101-102 degrees, Valley Center jumps to 97-98, Julian climbs to 96-99, Poway and Mt. Laguna reach 93-94, and Escondido gets to 91-92.
Farther east, Octotillo Wells could reach 120 on both days while Borrego Springs reaches 119. Forecasters say there’s a small chance that Borrego Springs will rise to its all-time high of 122, a number reached on June 25, 1999, and June 20, 2016.
Palm Springs is forecast to reach 121 on Saturday, while El Centro gets to 117.
The California Independent System Operator, which handles about 80 percent of the state’s electric grid, has not issued Flex Alerts for the weekend. And San Diego Gas & Electric said in a statement Friday that, “Our region is well-positioned to meet customer demand thanks to new energy storage projects coming online and a mix of locally generated and imported electricity.”
And a wildfire advisory is not expected because winds are predicted to be light.
“The heat will come from a very strong high-pressure system centered over central and Southern California,” said Miguel Miller, a weather service forecaster. “We don’t have the summer monsoon inland to tamp down temperatures a bit.”
Temperatures will be cooler at and near the coast due to a sea breeze that’s expected to arrive from the south and the west throughout the weekend. Forecasters say the temperature will be 73 to 74 at 10 a.m. on Saturday when the San Diego Pride parade begins in Hillcrest. That’s slightly below average.
The onshore winds will pick up a little chill from the ocean, where the temperature will be in the 65- to 68-degree range, which is below average for this time year. The surf is expected to be small, and rip currents will be modest. Beach-goers should still shuffle their feet when they enter the water to scare away stingrays.
