A worker pulls trailers loaded with tomatoes during a harvest in Winters, California, US, on Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Record-breaking temperatures are expected to bake the U.S. West this week including in Southern California and Arizona, where more than 30 million people are already sweltering while facing an excessive heat watch.
Temperatures are forecast to soar to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) just east of San Diego and Los Angeles, with areas around Palm Springs and Palm Desert hitting 113 starting Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. LA will climb into the mid-90s.
The heat will spread into Washington and Oregon and even Montana, said Brian Hurley, a senior branch forecaster at the U.S. Weather prediction center.
“A lot of records are forecast to either be tied or broken,” Hurley said. “It is going to be a while for this heat.”
As many as 44 records could be tied or beat from Tuesday to Thursday, with highs rising 20 to 25 degrees above normal in the northern Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest, Hurley said. Deviations from normal temperatures are bigger in the north because the area should be cooling down at this time of year. In Southern California and Arizona, readings could rise 5 to 10 degrees above normal.
In preparation for the heat, California’s grid operator is restricting power-plant maintenance from Aug. 31 to Sept. 6.
The heat is mainly the result of a high-pressure ridge bearing down on the region, according to Hurley.
“What is causing the heat is the placement of the ridge,” he said. “It’s all about that ridge.”
California’s heat could drive millions of residents to seek relief with air conditioners, taxing energy supplies. Demand on the state grid will build from back-to-back days of heat as the week progresses. Electricity use will rise to nearly 44.8 gigawatts on Sept. 4 and then stay at elevated levels through the weekend, according to the California Independent System Operator. In California, 1 gigawatt is enough to power about 750,000 homes.
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