Publication Date June 11, 2019 | Washington Post

San Francisco soars to 100 degrees as record heat wave roasts California and the West Coast

United States
24-hour temperatures compared with normal, centered on today and in degrees F. Credit: WeatherBell
24-hour temperatures compared with normal, centered on today and in degrees F. Credit: WeatherBell

Under mostly sunny skies, record highs started falling in California Sunday. Among the records, Riverside hit 104 degrees and Burbank tied its record of 100 degrees. Records also fell in the Bay Area and Central Valley. San Francisco Airport’s 92 degrees broke a record, as did Salinas, soaring to 98.

On Monday, Thermal — a desert location to the northeast of San Diego — reached 113 degrees, besting a record of 111 for the date. El Cajon crushed its previous daily record of 94 degrees with a high of 104 degrees. A number of records were demolished in the Bay Area as well, such as 107 degrees in King City and 105 degrees in Salinas.

San Francisco Airport’s 100-degree reading Monday tied for the fifth-hottest reading there since the mid-1940s and the hottest of any summer month (June through August). Notably, every other 100-degree or hotter day has come in September, when offshore winds (rather than winds off the ocean) are more prevalent.

Monterey also posted its highest June temperature Monday soaring to 97 degrees. That’s the warmest reading between June and August, as well, and third highest in any month behind 98 and 103 degrees in early September 2017.