California tied the highest winter temperature ever measured in the U.S. on Wednesday, as a heat wave intensified and shattered records across the state.
A weather station in the Dos Palmas Preserve of eastern Coachella Valley recorded a temperature of 108 degrees. That ties the U.S. March record with Rio Grande City, Texas, according to weather historian Christopher Burt. It’s also California’s highest temperature ever measured in March or any winter month. The data are considered preliminary, according to the National Weather Service.
Nearby weather stations in Indio and Thermal (Riverside County) reached 107 degrees. Palm Springs’ high of 105 is its hottest ever in March.
Triple-digit heat was mainly confined to desert regions, but one of the most anomalous temperature readings came in the Sierra Nevada.
South Lake Tahoe’s high of 76 was 5 degrees higher than any other March day since temperature observations there began in 1969.
“The forecast still calls for two more days of record breaking temperatures,” the weather service office in Reno said. “The question is, will we break the monthly record again on Thursday and Friday? The chances are pretty good!”
Many coastal areas cooled slightly from Tuesday’s readings, but it was still plenty warm for dozens of daily records and a few monthly records from Wine Country to Orange County.
In the Bay Area, Redwood City was the hot spot for the second day in a row, reaching 90 degrees. Santa Rosa followed with 89, Richmond hit 88, San Rafael and San Jose measured 87, Oakland reached 85, San Francisco International Airport hit 81 and Half Moon Bay rounded out the same-day records with a high of 79.
In the Central Valley, Fresno, Bakersfield, Stockton, Merced and Fresno set monthly temperature records, while Sacramento tied its highest March temperature.
The heat wasn’t confined to California. Reno, Las Vegas and Phoenix each measured new all-time high March temperatures at 86, 94 and 102 degrees, respectively. And it isn’t over yet.
A slight cooldown was expected Saturday and Sunday, particularly for coastal areas, though temperatures were still in line to be well above March norms.
“Confidence for above normal temperatures is still very high over parts of southern California, southeastern Nevada, and portions of the Four Corners region,” until April 1, the Climate Prediction Center branch of the weather service wrote in an extended forecast issued Wednesday. The winter season officially ends Friday.
