Coachella to kick off with a toasty first weekend as heat builds across Southern California
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After a taste of warm weather over the weekend, Southern Californians should prepare for an even hotter rest of the week, as heat is forecast to continue building across the region through at least Friday.
By Thursday and Friday, highs are expected to soar 10 to 15 degrees above average for this time of year, hitting the 90s across inland valleys and into the triple digits for some inland deserts — including the site of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which spans two weekends.
Festival-goers arriving for the kickoff in Indio can expect highs to crack 100 degrees Friday, said David Munyan, a National Weather Service meteorologist in San Diego.
The two arena-sized acts will play early afternoon sets in the Mojave Tent. FKA Twigs drops out citing visa problems.
“The first weekend of the festival ... it’s going to be a hot weekend,” Munyan said. “There’s not a whole lot of shade out there, so of course, we always want to preach hydration, light-colored clothing.”
In the Inland Empire, highs Thursday and Friday are forecast to reach into the low 90s, while Los Angeles and Orange counties’ inland valleys will probably get into the 80s. The coast will see the least dramatic warm-up, but highs will still be above average, hitting the mid-70s, forecasters said.
“We’ll probably get about 3 degrees warmer with each day throughout the course of the week,” Munyan said Monday. “The real hot days this week are going to be focused on Thursday, Friday.”
The dome of high pressure driving this mini heat wave is forecast to dissipate by the weekend, when temperatures will begin to drop — though it will happen more slowly in the desert.
“For Saturday, it’s still looking pretty hot,” Munyan said of Coachella, where he expects the high in Indio to still hit the high 90s.
“It looks like weekend No. 2 [of the festival] won’t be as hot, but there’s still some uncertainty,” he said.
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