Published
12 months agoon
If you’ve got a swimming pool here in the Valley or a cabin up at Shaver Lake, this weekend would be a good time to use them.
That is, unless you’d rather sweat out the triple-digit temperatures that are forecast for Friday (high of 105) and Saturday (high of 104).
National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Ochs said the upcoming short spate of hotter weather is fairly typical for our region this time of year.
“We’ll get some warmer days, then a cooling period afterward,” he said.
(By “cooling period,” Ochs means the daytime highs will drop back into the 90s.)
Are we heading for another record-breaking summer like last year, when Fresno saw its hottest-ever July, second-hottest June, and third-hottest August? Ochs said forecasters are predicting a 60% chance that this summer will be hotter than average in the region.
“It’s hard to say if we will get that warm again, but it’s not out of the question,” he said.
If the past 20 years are any indication, this summer will have lots and lots of triple-digit temperature days. According to the National Weather Service, the average is 38 days. Last summer there were 69 (yes, also record-setting). The fewest? In 1956 there were only 15.
For those who like to look for the silver lining in hot weather, this weekend’s daily highs will come up a degree or two short of the all-time record high of 106 for both June 10 (set in 1986) and June 11 (set in 1979).
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email