A record-breaking March heat wave has reached Fresno. How hot will it get?

A hot weather front trapped over the central San Joaquin Valley will push Fresno into record-breaking temperatures in an early spring heatwave, according to the National Weather Service.

Fresno as of 4 p.m. Wednesday had already hit 88 degrees, breaking the record of 85 for the day set in 1926.

It’s expected to get hotter Thursday and Friday, possibly reaching into the 90s, according to meteorologist Carlos Molina with the weather service in Hanford. If that happens it would top the Thursday record of 85 in 2014, and the Friday mark of 87 in 2015.

Molina attributes the hot temperatures to a high pressure ridge from the southwest Pacific that is keeping the warm air trapped in the Valley. But by Monday, another weather front from the north will move in, possibly bringing about a tenth of an inch of rain to the Valley floor and some snow showers to the Sierra Nevada.

This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 11:57 AM.