Crank up the air conditioners – Valley is in for another searing week

Fresno is in for another searing week, with daytime highs expected to remain firmly anchored in triple digits for at least the next seven days, the National Weather Service said Sunday.

Although this summer may seem like it’s been just one wilting hundred-degree day after another, the Valley remains a long way from setting records for triple digits.

Brian Ochs, a meteorologist in the weather service’s Hanford office, said high temperatures in July and early August are typically in the upper 90s. This year, daytime highs are above the average but are not unusually high.

“What is a little unusual is the length of consecutively high temperatures,” Ochs said. “But it is not likely to break any records.”

Fresno’s longest heat wave was in 2005, when there were 21 consecutive days of triple digits, from July 23 to Aug. 12.

This July, Fresno reached 100 or higher for 16 days consecutive days in a heat wave that ranks as the 15th longest on record, according to the weather service.

In the coming week, daytime temperatures are expected to reach 100 or higher all week, with highs reaching 106 and 107 on Tuesday and Wednesday before dropping back to the low 100s.

Ochs said triple-digit temperatures are expected to continue at least through the first two weeks of August due to persistent high pressure sitting over the region.

This story was originally published July 30, 2017 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Crank up the air conditioners – Valley is in for another searing week."