Weather 180: Cool Rain Forecast To Follow CA Heat Wave

CALIFORNIA — With temperatures poised to hit the triple digits in the deserts, reaching the 80s and 90s across much of Southern and Northern California, next week's weather may cause some whiplash.

According to the National Weather Service, the first big warmup of the year will see afternoon highs running 10-20 degrees hotter than usual for this time of year around Los Angeles, San Diego and the Bay Area, peaking Thursday in NorCal and Saturday in SoCal.

The unseasonable heat has officials across the state keeping a close eye on snowmelt, already prompting widespread flood-related closures in the Yosemite Valley beginning Friday night.

California will stay toasty through the early weekend, but the first signs of a cooldown will be close at hand.

"The first day with widespread cooling will be Sunday," NWS Bay Area forecasters said Wednesday. "Further cooling will occur on Monday and Tuesday as an upper-level trough and ultimately an upper low move over the region. Longer range [model] guidance is coming into better [agreement] with the pattern change."

By Tuesday, places like Los Angeles and San Jose could see afternoon highs running 20 degrees cooler than the weekend, and there is a growing chance for some rain to return around the middle of next week.

Early forecasts show afternoon highs dipping to the low-to-mid 60s by early next week, with the shot at rain showers arriving Tuesday. Better chances are likely to materialize in the days to follow. While rain in the mountains could rapidly accelerate the snowmelt, early signals show the potential for another foot of snow falling over the Sierra Nevada next week.

Looking further down the line, climate outlooks continue to favor wetter and cooler weather across the Golden State well into the middle of May.