Excessive Heat — San Diego County Deserts, California

2020-05-26 to 2020-05-28 · San Diego County Deserts, California

Event narrative

Temperatures ranged from 105 to 110 degrees in parts of the San Diego County deserts.

Wider weather episode

Leading up to the heatwave, a cooler pattern set up over Southern California, where we saw an upper level trough bring wet and windy weather on May 18th and 19th. Rain totals of up to one inch were observed in parts of the mountains and wind gusts 45-55 miles per hour in areas of the mountains and deserts. By May 26th through 28th, an upper level high pressure system set up over the western U.S. and brought the region some intense heat. Temperatures were especially hot in the deserts with readings about 10 to 15 degrees above average, where parts of the Lower Deserts reached up to 111 degrees at Palm Springs.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 895478. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.