Temperature Hits Record 119 in Redding as Heat Wave Bakes Western States

A widespread heat wave is expected to deliver a fresh batch of record temperatures along the West Coast, as millions of Americans sweat through a heat dome over California.

About 36 million people — roughly 10% of the country — are under excessive heat warnings coming from the heat dome centered over California, the National Weather Service said on Sunday.

High temperatures are forecast to meet or exceed daily high records in Washington state, Oregon, California, northern Arizona and central Idaho.

Temperatures are running as much as 20 degrees above normal this time of year in places like Redding, a city a northern California that hit an all-time high of 119 degrees on Saturday, NWS meteorologist Bryan Jackson said.

Highs in San Diego County on Sunday were forecast to be 73 to 78 near the coast, 80 to

83 inland, 82 to 86 in the western valleys, 92 to 97 near the foothills, 96 to 106 in the mountains and 115 to 119 in the deserts.

Jackson said the heat dome will lead to record temperatures over the next week.

“We’re expecting it to merely drift east through the early part of next week and basically persist through the week, so we’ve got a real expansive and extreme heat wave ongoing, and it’s expected to continue this week,” he said.

Meteorologists in San Diego said he hottest days locally will be Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

Reuters contributed to this article.