Fresnans usually say when they’re talking about hot summer weather that “at least it’s a dry heat.” This weekend, not so much.

Humidity levels will be higher than usual thanks to monsoonal storms pushing into the Central Valley from the Desert Southwest and Four Corners region, and that will not only make those daytime triple-digit highs feel warmer but also will keep the overnight lows near record levels.

High temperatures in Fresno are forecast to peak at 106 degrees on Friday and dip to 104 on Saturday and Sunday, said Brian Ochs, a National Weather Service meteorologist in the Hanford office.

The National Weather Service has issued a major heat risk advisory for parts of the San Joaquin Valley for Friday and this weekend.

One Record Tied on Friday Morning

The heat risk isn’t just the daytime highs. Friday morning’s overnight low was 75, matching a record for the highest low temperature for Aug. 22 that was set in 1995, Ochs said. Other high minimum records could be set this weekend, he said.

High overnight lows prevent people from being able to recover from daytime hot weather, raising the risk to their health.

Residents and visitors to the Sierra foothills and Coast Range will feel even hotter due to the “thermal belt” that will keep overnight temperatures on the warmer side, Ochs said.

Meantime, there could be dry thunderstorms and heat lightning in the Sierra on Friday, following by more moisture-laden storms this weekend that could bring trace amounts of rain even to the Valley, he said.

Relief in Sight for Residents, NWS Hanford Office

The spate of triple-digit weather in Fresno is forecast to continue through Tuesday and then taper off into the 90s starting Wednesday, Ochs said. Cooler daytime weather will also bring the bliss of cooler overnight temperatures, which could drop to 69 by next Thursday in Fresno.

What the immediate forecast doesn’t call for is an infusion of new meteorologists. The Hanford office is one of many across the nation that have been operating short-handed since earlier this year when the Trump administration cut NWS positions. But in August the administration announced that new positions would be funded and hiring would begin.

Ochs said that should help boost the Hanford staff, but the positions have yet to be posted.