100-Degree Overnight Low: 5 Things To Know About CA's Record Heat Wave

CALIFORNIA — Californians have been sweltering for days under a heat wave that has set records and proved fatal for some. It’s far from over.

Prepare for the hot days ahead with these five things to know about the ongoing extreme weather.

1. Motorcyclist dies of heat exposure

A motorcyclist died of exposure Saturday near Badwater Basin at Death Valley National Park, according to the National Park Service. The person was traveling with five other bikers, one of whom suffered severe heat illness and had to be taken to receive advanced medical care in Las Vegas. The other four were treated on site.

The motorcyclist is not the first victim the heat wave has claimed. A homeless man died last week in San Jose from apparent heat-related causes, according to Mayor Matt Mahan.

2. Temperatures reach record highs

The day the motorcyclist died, Death Valley saw a daily record high of 128 degrees, surpassing the previous high of 127 degrees in 2007.

An Associated Press photo showed a thermometer at the park reading 132 degrees Sunday, which would have been a daily record, but the thermometer is not an official National Weather Service temperature site and its readings are considered to be an estimate, meteorologist Matt Woods said. The official high was 129 degrees, tying the daily record from 2007.

There’s no sign of cooling in the coming days at Death Valley, where the overnight low is forecast to be around 101 degrees Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights.

The hottest temperature ever officially recorded on Earth was 134 degrees at the park in July 1913, though some experts dispute the measurement and say the real record was 130 degrees, recorded there in July 2021.

Other areas of the state have also set records in recent days.

On Sunday, Palmdale and Lancaster both had record daily highs, according to the National Weather Service. Palmdale recorded a high of 114 degrees, shattering the record of 110 set in 1989, while Lancaster's 115 degrees broke the record of 110 set in 1989 and 2017.

Lancaster's 115 degree temperature also set the record high for July, breaking the old mark of 114 from July 18, 1960, and July 19, 1960.

The Palmdale and Lancaster area’s previous record of three consecutive days with highs at 110 degrees or above was decimated, as the hot stretch reached five days Monday, with more scorchers expected as the week goes on, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Robbie Munroe.

It was 101 degrees in Sandberg on Sunday, breaking the daily record of 100 set in 2018.

Further north, Redding topped out Sunday at a record 119 degrees.

3. When will the heat wave end?

The short answer — not for a while.

Temperatures will start to drop mid to late this week although they will continue to be above normal until the heat begins to move out later in the week, likely along a northwest to southeast trajectory, according to Munroe.

“The end of the current heat wave will kind of very gradually drop off,” Munroe said, adding high temperatures were expected to linger in desert areas into early next week.

4. Why is this happening?

The source of the heat wave is what Munroe characterized as a “stubborn” ridge of heavy atmospheric pressure resulting in extreme high temperatures, which are expected to be present for a total of up to two weeks in some parts of the state, according to Munroe.

A weak trough of rising air and lower pressure is anticipated to replace the ridge across Northern California, bringing cooling effects in the next week or so, Munroe said.

5. Where are the Flex Alerts?

The last time California issued a Flex Alert was in 2022. None have been declared so far this summer.

That’s because coastal areas are currently less unseasonably warm than the interior of the state, keeping electricity demand lower, according to California ISO. The state has also expanded resources in recent years, with 9,163 megawatts of battery capacity connected to the grid.

There is, however, a Restricted Maintenance Operation in effect through midnight Thursday cautioning utilities and transmission operators to avoid taking equipment offline for routine maintenance in order to assure generators and transmission lines are available for higher loads.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.