Fresno just saw its hottest day of 2021 and is in for another scorcher. Relief this weekend?

The National Weather Service extended an excessive heat warning for the Fresno area and is now expecting triple-digit — though not quite recording-breaking — temperatures into the weekend.

Fresno had the year’s first 100-plus degree day on Memorial Day and added a few more degrees on Tuesday, making it the hottest day of 2021, so far.

The temperature topped at 104, though some spots were hotter still — 109 at Pine Flat and 107 at Lemoore Naval Air Station.

At 103, the temperature in Merced tied the all-time record high for the date, set in 1960 and reached again in 2016..

There’s only an eight percent chance Fresno will reach its record high (106 degrees) on Wednesday, when the heat wave is expected to peak.

Temperatures will remain “ridiculously hot” on Thursday and Friday though, “especially in the Kern County desert where thermometer readings may peak near 110 degrees in the normally hottest locations,” the National Weather Service said in its daily forecast.

Fresno-area residents are urged to stay indoors (preferably somewhere with air-condition) and remain hydrated. The triple-digit streak should be over for much of the area by Sunday, the NWS said, and back to normal (or closer anyway) by early next week.

Fresno will have several of its cooling centers open from 1-7 p.m., with free FAX bus transportation to the centers along normal routes.

Overall, the area was warmer than normal for the month of May, with precipitation numbers that were below average (“basically non-existent,” according to the NWS). Of course, that average amount is less than a half-inch.

It was the eighth warmest May on record in Fresno and tied for lowest precipitation for May on record.

If history holds, we can expect nearly 40 days of 100-degree weather over the next four months.

Since 1991, Fresno has had, on average, a total of 38 days of triple-digit temperatures from May to September.

There were 11 day last June in which the temperature was over 100 degrees. The hottest day, at 107, was June 27.

This story was originally published June 2, 2021 at 9:12 AM.