This SLO County city broke a heat record — and more hot weather is on the way
It’s hot, hot, hot on the Central Coast this week — and don’t expect cooler weather to return any time soon.
On Monday, Paso Robles broke its daily heat record for the second day in a row, hitting a sweltering 111 degrees Fahreinheit at the Paso Robles Municipal Airport, according to the National Weather Service.
The triple-digit high broke the previous record of 110 degrees on that date in 1992.
It’s the second day in a row the North County city broke its own heat record.
The Paso Robles airport recorded a maximum temp of 114 degrees on Sunday. According to the National Weather Service, that broke the previous daily record of 110 degrees set in 1994 and tied for the monthly August record.
And the heat isn’t letting up any time soon.
“I’ve been doing this for a long, long time,” PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey told The Tribune on Monday. “The classic rule of thumb is California heat waves last for three days.”
Heat like this, he added, is “really unusual.”
Tuesday promises to be even warmer in North County.
According to Lindsey, temperatures on Tuesday have the potential to tie for an all-time heat record in Paso Robles.
On Tuesday, temperatures could reach a high of 115 degrees, he said. If that happens, Paso Robles would break not only its daily record, but would also potentially tie for its all-time hottest temperature ever recorded in the North County city.
According to Lindsey, the city last recorded a high of 115 degrees on July 20, 1960, and Sept. 2, 2017.
The high in Paso Robles on Wednesday is expected to reach 111 degrees, which would also break the previous daily heat record of 109 degrees, according to Lindsey.
Temperatures in Paso Robles are expected to be well into the 100s for the rest of the week, heading into the weekend.
Could San Luis Obispo break a heat record?
As the unusually-long heat wave continues throughout California, other cities in San Luis Obispo County do have some potential to break records, Lindsey said.
In San Luis Obispo, temperatures reached only 93 on Monday, just short of its daily heat record of 94 degrees record set in 1962.
But have no fear, the city’s hottest days are potentially on their way.
According to Lindsey, San Luis Obispo could potentially break its daily heat records on Wednesday and Thursday.
For both days, the previous record high was 94 degrees, set in 1986 and 1963, respectively.
“If I was a betting guy, I would say Wednesday or maybe Thursday, San Luis could rocket up pretty quickly in the late morning hours,” Lindsey said. “One shift of the wind can really change everything.”
Lindsey said coastal beaches and communities could begin to get some relief from the heat, starting Thursday, though southern-facing beaches such as Shell Beach, Avila Beach and Cayucos will continue to see temperatures in the 90s.
Santa Maria breaks record 5 days in a row.
Paso Robles is not the only Central Coast city to break heat records this week.
Santa Maria has five days in a row broken its previous daily temperature records — beginning on Thursday when the Santa Barbara County city clocked in at 93 degrees, beating its old record of 89 degrees set in 1991, according to Lindsey.
On Friday and Saturday, the city reported a high of 89 degrees, above both the 87-degree record and 88-degree record set in 1994 and 1983, respectively.
On Sunday, the city recorded a high of 88 degrees, which broke the 1962 record of 86 degrees on that date.
Finally on Monday, Santa Maria clocked in at 89 degrees, beating the previous record of 88 degrees set in 1984, according to the National Weather Service.
This story was originally published August 17, 2020 at 6:05 PM.
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