Streak over: Palm Springs ends run of days hitting 110 degrees; new streak starts this week

The streak is over.

In a summer that has seen Palm Springs set multiple temperature records including one for the highest temperature the city has ever seen, there has been perhaps no more eye-catching testament to this year’s blistering and relentless heat than the city’s recent streak of days where the temperature reached 110 degrees.

That streak extended to 22 days on Friday but came to an end Saturday when the National Weather Service says the temperature maxed out at 109 degrees, leaving the city just one degree short of extending the streak and five days short of the all-time record for days at or above 110 set in 1959. It was slightly cooler to Palm Springs’ east with the high reaching 107 in Indio and 106 in Thermal.

“That’s solid second place,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Tardy about where Palm Springs’ 22-day streak places it in the record books.

It could turn out that one singular degree may be all that ends up having stood between Palm Springs and history as Palm Springs is forecast to start another run of days at or above 110 degrees on Monday lasting through at least Saturday, the furthest current forecasts go out. The high is expected to gradually rise over the course of the week, going from 109 on Sunday to 115 by next Saturday. The average high for this time of year is 108 degrees, Tardy said.

Tardy said the (slight) recent cooldown has been the result of a monsoonal system that brought moisture into the region, but no precipitation to the Coachella Valley itself. He explained that the system will likely bring some big thunderstorms to mountain areas with there being a very slim chance that the Coachella Valley could also see precipitation.

The arrival of a monsoonal system, he said, is roughly in line with seasonal trends that typically see the first monsoon activity occur in early July. The National Weather Service reports that the storms are expected to deliver heavy rain and lots of lightning to some mountain areas, creating concerns that new fires could start. More monsoon activity could also come toward the end of the week.

But the intense heat will continue in between with Palm Springs expected to add more days at or above 110 degrees to a total for the year that already stands at an impressive 26 days, most of which came during the recent streak.

Tardy said that the number of such days in recent years has varied from 66 in 2020 to 17 in 2013, with the city averaging around 45 over the last decade, although he said the service’s records do not officially track an average number of days at or above 110.

“Right now we are at a good pace to at least break the recent average [for such days],” he said given that the desert still likely has months of hot weather ahead.

Tardy said the recent heat wave has been the result of a heat dome, which describes a situation in which the atmosphere traps hot air in place for several days, that was particularly stationary. In general, he said, the desert and mountain areas of Southern California have experienced a strong trend of longer and more intense heat waves and warmer years overall although the record setting 124 degree temperature on July 5 will make the recent heat wave particularly memorable.

“124 certainly puts an exclamation point on the actual intensity of the heat wave,” he said.

Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development and business in the Coachella Valley. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and email him at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.