SLO breaks 60-year-old heat record as temperatures sizzle countywide

San Luis Obispo County residents couldn’t find many places to cool off on Friday, when thermometers spiked from San Luis Obispo to Avila Beach to Paso Robles.

A weeklong heat wave culminated in triple-digit and nearly triple-digit temperatures inland, in the coastal valleys and even at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, which typically receives plenty of cooling ocean breezes.

San Luis Obispo hit 106 degrees, breaking a 60-year-old of 105 degrees set in 1955, according to John Lindsey, a PG&E meteorologist.

Diablo Canyon thermometers climbed to 90 degrees, which broke a 30-year-old record of 74 degrees set in 1984.

Paso Robles had reached 111 degrees by 5 p.m., and was still climbing, Lindsey said. The region was projected to hit a high of 115 degrees, which would’ve matched the all-time high set in 1960. The daily record was 112 degrees set in 1955.

The extreme heat will continue through the weekend — Paso Robles is predicted to hit 110 degrees on Saturday, and San Luis Obispo is expected to top out at 100 degrees.

Cooler weather will make an appearance on Sunday and Monday, when the high-pressure ridge keeping the hot weather in place will weaken, according to Lindsey. Paso Robles is expected to reach 90 degrees on Sunday, and San Luis Obispo will likely hit 92 degrees.

Early next week, Tropical Storm Lidia — which is moving up the coast from Baja California — will bring muggy conditions and a chance of showers and thunderstorms Sunday into Monday.

Conditions should heat back up after Labor Day, with Paso Robles forecast to hit 98 degrees on Thursday and San Luis Obispo to climb to 95 degrees.

This story was originally published September 1, 2017 at 6:12 PM with the headline "SLO breaks 60-year-old heat record as temperatures sizzle countywide."