Brace for southwest heat wave

The National Weather Service expanded or maintained heat alerts across the Southwest on Thursday, with Albuquerque back under a heat advisory, lower desert warnings around Phoenix extending into the weekend, and Southern California forecast offices warning of dangerous inland heat through Aug. 8 or Aug. 9. The advisories and warnings span New Mexico, Arizona and California as forecasters point to triple-digit highs, elevated overnight temperatures in some areas and major heat risk in desert zones. The alerts come as the broader national hazards outlook says dangerous heat is intensifying across the Desert Southwest and Intermountain West. ### Where are the newest alerts concentrated? Albuquerque returned to a heat advisory on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service’s warning summary for the ABQ office. The advisory text urged residents to drink fluids, stay in air-conditioned rooms, avoid the sun and limit strenuous activity to early morning or evening. Phoenix’s forecast office said on Thursday that extreme heat warnings are in effect through Sunday across lower desert locations. (forecast.weather.gov) The office said many lower desert areas are expected to exceed 110 degrees, with elevated humidity making conditions feel hotter. The Salton Sea zone in southeastern California remained under an extreme heat warning until Aug. 9 at 8 p.m. PDT, according to the NWS zone forecast page served by the Phoenix office. That page showed hazardous conditions for the Salton Sea area and listed the warning as active on Thursday. (forecast.weather.gov) ### How hot are forecasters saying it will get? Western and Southern Imperial County, including the Imperial Valley and Salton Sea, were forecast for afternoon temperatures of 107 to 117 degrees, according to an NWS warnings page. (weather.gov) The same notice said heat-related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat events and warned that overexposure can progress from cramps and exhaustion to heat stroke. (forecast.weather.gov) Southern California valleys and deserts were also under heat alerts from multiple forecast offices. The San Diego office said Friday and Saturday are expected to be the hottest days of the week, with major HeatRisk expected in the deserts and moderate HeatRisk in most inland valleys and mountains. Los Angeles/Oxnard issued an extreme heat warning effective Aug. 5 through Aug. 9 at 8 p.m. PDT for parts of Southern California, according to California’s state-facing alert feed. (forecast.weather.gov) That alert said daytime highs of 95 to 105 degrees were common, with locally hotter locations up to 108 degrees. ### Which Southern California areas are specifically named? The San Diego forecast office’s non-precipitation warnings product showed an urgent weather message issued early Thursday. (weather.gov) Separate zone forecasts for the Apple and Lucerne Valleys identified an extreme heat warning for that area, with highs listed at 103 to 111 degrees. California’s alert feeds showed multiple heat products on Aug. 5, including warnings tied to Los Angeles/Oxnard. (govonestop.com) One state-facing posting named the Antelope Valley and nearby foothill zones, while the San Diego office highlighted inland valleys and desert communities farther south and east. ### What are federal forecasters saying about the broader pattern? The National Weather Service’s broader hazards page said on Thursday that dangerous heat will intensify across the Desert Southwest and Intermountain West. (forecast.weather.gov) Albuquerque’s area forecast discussion, updated late Wednesday, said high temperatures were running 5 to 10 degrees above normal across much of New Mexico, with moderate to major heat risk in much of the state and record highs expected on several days over central and western New Mexico. (govonestop.com) Phoenix’s heat page also showed the persistence of the event beyond a single day, with heat expected through the end of the workweek and into the weekend. The office said increasing moisture would push heat indices to around 110 to 115 degrees for the latter half of the week. ### When do the current warnings expire? The latest New Mexico advisory was active on Aug. 6, while several Arizona and California warnings run later. The Salton Sea zone warning and the Los Angeles/Oxnard warning both list expiration at 8 p.m. (weather.gov) PDT on Aug. 9, and the San Diego office said Friday and Saturday will be the hottest days in its area this week. (forecast.weather.gov) (weather.gov)