Weather Service warns of deadly hot temperatures, elevates SLO County alert
The National Weather Service elevated its excessive heat watch to a warning Wednesday, indicating dangerously hot conditions are imminent.
The Weather Service issued a watch earlier in the week as forecasts called for triple-digit temperatures across much of southern California, including San Luis Obispo County.
On Wednesday, the watch was upgraded to a warning, meaning those “extremely dangerous heat conditions” were within 12 hours of onset, according to the Weather Service.
An excessive heat warning is usually issued “when the maximum heat index temperature is expected to be 105 degrees or higher for at least two days and night-time air temperatures will not drop below 75 degrees,” the Weather Service said.
That can vary across the country, especially for areas that are not used to extreme heat conditions, the Weather Service said.
Additionally with a warning, the Weather Service said, “if you don’t take precautions immediately when conditions are extreme, you may become seriously ill or even die.”
According to the upgraded warning, temperatures are expected to hit highs between 95 and 112 degrees Saturday and 100 to 115 degrees on Sunday and Monday across much of the Central Coast and Southern California.
The region will also see “abnormally warm overnight temperatures.”
Though temperatures are forecast to hit the 80s and 90s in San Luis Obispo County’s coastal valleys and lower along the beaches, the North County will feel the brunt of the heat wave, with temperatures expected to hit 114 degrees in Paso Robles on Sunday, which would set a new record for that day. The previous record is 111 degrees, set in 1988.
The warning is in place from Wednesday through 8 p.m. Monday, according to the Weather Service, though the agency said it has “moderate confidence that a cooling trend will start by Tuesday after Labor Day.”
People are advised to drink plenty of fluids, stay out of the sun and in an air-conditioned room and check up on relatives and neighbors.
Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location.
This story was originally published August 31, 2022 at 2:33 PM.
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