Paso Robles smashes heat record for third day in a row. What’s ahead for weekend?

Paso Robles broke its daily heat record yet again Thursday — marking the third day in a row that the North County city reached record-breaking temperatures.

According to meteorologist John Lindsey, the mercury hit 106 degrees at the Paso Robles Municipal Airport on Thursday, shattering the previous record of 103 degrees set in 1987.

The heat wave began on Tuesday, when the city recorded a high temperature of 107 degrees, breaking the previous 44-year-old record of 106 degrees set in 1980.

The, Paso saw its hottest day of the week on Wednesday, when the 108-degree high easily broke the previous daily temperature record of 105 degrees, which was set in 2012.

Meanwhile, San Luis Obispo hit a high of 95 on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

After three days of record-high temperature, it looks like the heat wave’s grip on San Luis Obispo County is loosening.

Lindsey said that though Paso Robles was likely to hit triple-digit temps through Sunday, “the heat will not likely surpass the daily records from 1987.”

in that year, an unusual “strong high-pressure ridge and Santa Lucia (northeasterly) winds triggered an intense heatwave across California,” pushing temperatures to all-time highs, Lindsey said.

Oct. 4, 1987, set a record at 105, followed by Oct. 5 at 104.

The National Weather Service’s excessive heat warning was also set to expire Thursday afternoon, though an excessive heat watch was expected to remain in effect.

What’s next in SLO County’s forecast

Through the rest of the week and into the weekend, Paso Robles was expected to see high temperatures of around 101 degrees, while nearby in Atascadero, the high was expected to range between 93 and 97 degrees, according to the Weather Service.

In San Luis Obispo, temperatures were expected to peak at 96 degrees on Sunday.

Along the coast, the high was expected to range between the low 70s and low 80s through the weekend.

Temperatures will then continue to cool into next week.

Kaytlyn Leslie

The Tribune

805-781-7928 (voicemails only)

Kaytlyn Leslie writes about business and development for The San Luis Obispo Tribune. Hailing from Nipomo, she also covers city governments and happenings in San Luis Obispo. She joined The Tribune in 2013 after graduating from Cal Poly with her journalism degree.