California Braces For 115 Degree Weather Over Labor Day Weekend—With Death Valley Forecasted To Hit 124

Topline

More than 55 million people in California were placed under heat alerts on Wednesday as the state prepares for record-shattering high temperatures over the Labor Day weekend.

Key Facts

High temperatures are expected to climb to 108 degrees fahrenheit in the state’s Central Valley on Thursday and reach 110 on Saturday, 113 on Sunday and 115 on Monday, before decreasing slightly to 110 on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office.

The National Weather Service warns the heat in the Central Valley, which includes Sacramento and Fresno, as well as the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range will pose a very high risk of heat stress or illness, and asks people to plan to have cooling and water — especially people planning to spend the holiday weekend outside.

Temperatures in areas north of Los Angeles are expected to reach into the 100s and 110s over the next few days, and soar as high as 112 in Woodland Hills, potentially breaking a heat record.

Excessive heat has also elevated the risk of wildfires in southwestern California, where forests are “critically dry” and gusty northwest winds have the potential to spread a fire, the National Weather Service announced.

Key Background

The heat wave in California is the latest in a series of blistering summer heat waves across the country. Oakland and San Francisco broke daily heat records on June 21, when the temperature hit 98 degrees, taking down a daily record in Oakland that stood since 1954. Records have also fallen this summer in Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Dallas, Memphis, Chicago and Atlanta. A heat wave in Europe killed more than 2,000 people in Spain and Portugal, and fueled wildfires in Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. During that heat wave, the United Kingdom also hit its hottest day on record, reaching 104 degrees in southern England. Climate scientists attribute the blaring temperatures to climate change, which they argue has increased the frequency of heat waves and made them more intense. Data from the Environmental Protection Agency shows the average number of heat waves per year in major U.S. cities tripled from just over two in the 1960s to more than six in the 2020s, while the average length of heat waves rose from three to four over that time. Scientists in a study published in Communications Earth & Environment in January estimate that by 2030, nearly every country will experience “extreme heat” every other year.

Big Number

124 degrees. That’s how hot the National Weather Service predicts it will be in Death Valley on Monday and Tuesday. The NWS placed the Death Valley National Park, as well as Las Vegas and parts of California’s San Bernardino County and Nevada’s Clark County and Nye County under excessive heat warnings.

Crucial Quote

“It’s not uncommon to get some hot temperatures during the Labor Day period, but this is an extraordinary heat event,” NWS Sacramento meteorologist Eric Kurth told Reuters.

Further Reading

These U.S. Cities Could See Record-Breaking Temperatures As A Heat Wave Hits The Northeast (Forbes)

Heat Wave Watch: Here’s Where It Will Be Dangerously Hot In The U.S. This Week (Forbes)

Google Searches For Extreme Weather Events Peaked This Summer As U.S. Battled Floods And Heatwaves (Forbes)