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Valley summer lingers in September
Hot summer weather is clinging to Fresno like a sweaty T-shirt as high temperatures look to break the century mark next week.
The warm-up might hit even sooner. It could reach 101 degrees if there are fewer clouds over the Valley this weekend, or stay in the high 90s if there are more.
"It'll be close," National Weather Service meteorologist David Spector said.
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Record cold chills some Valley spots
A cold front camped in the Valley over the weekend but temperatures will soon be on the rise, according to the National Weather Service.
Overnight lows Sunday set records for the date in some Valley communities. Hanford dipped to 38 degrees, below the previous record of 42 degrees set in 1998. Merced also set a record low at 44 degrees; the old record was 48 degrees also set in 1998. However, the weather service said that temperature records for these two cities go back only a little more than a decade.
In Fresno, the overnight low was 47 while in Madera the low hit 45. Neither set a record. Fresno's high Sunday was 68.
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Alaska sends big cool bluster
A cold front from the Gulf of Alaska brought cooler air and gusty winds to the Valley on Tuesday, and sprinkles to Fresno and Clovis, the National Weather Service said.
Fresno's high of 76 degrees Tuesday was 22 degrees cooler than Monday's high. Normally at this time, Fresno's high temperature is 85 degrees.
"It's packing a big punch," Kevin Durfee, a NWS meteorologist, said of the cold front that also brought northwest winds up to 29 mph in the Valley on Tuesday.
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Rain dampens Valley, but not for long
The tail of a Northern California storm dropped spotty rain across the central San Joaquin Valley on Monday, but skies should clear today and temperatures are expected to begin rising by Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.
Trace amounts of rain fell in Fresno, while Madera and Merced received 0.02 of an inch and Hanford, 0.01 an inch.
The storm hit hardest north of the San Joaquin Valley, said David Spector, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford.
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Valley heat to taper off
After six days of triple-digit temperatures, the Valley is expected to cool off, with the highs forecast to drop more than 20 degrees by midweek.
Sunday's high in Fresno reached 103, just below the record of 105 for the date set in 1888. Records were set elsewhere around the Valley, however. Hanford's high of 100 and Merced's high of 102 exceeded the record of 97 set last year. Madera's high of 102 beat last year's record high of 96.
Temperatures will begin a steady decline today, with the high in Fresno reaching 93, according to the National Weather Service in Hanford. By Wednesday, Fresno's high is expected to dip to 77.
Some of the hottest weather so far this year could hit Fresno over the weekend.
An upper-level ridge is expected to push a shallow layer of ocean-cooled air out of the Valley by this afternoon.
Saturday's high is expected to hit 105 degrees -- seven degrees higher than the high of 98 forecast for today, and temperatures should hit 105 again Sunday.
High temperatures should stay in the triple digits through Tuesday, but are expected to drop to 102 degrees on Monday and 100 on Tuesday.
The weekend's expected highs also are lower than the 106-degree high on May 17, which broke the Fresno record of 102 set for that date last year.
Overnight low temperatures likewise could drop over the three days. The low temperatures are forecast for 73 degrees Saturday, 71 Sunday and 70 Monday.
The temperatures will be of Fresno's typical "dry heat" variety, the National Weather Service said, because the relative humidity will remain at "tolerable levels."
"It's so dry, our temperature could be 103, but it will feel cooler," said Jim Bagnall, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Hanford.
The triple-digit sweep will engulf most of the San Joaquin Valley, but should not set records in Fresno, the National Weather Service said.
Weather statistics beginning in 1891 recorded high temperatures for today's date through Tuesday between 108 and 112 degrees.
The streak should end Wednesday with a high of 99 degrees, Bagnall said.
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