Jonathan Belles
Published: April 25, 2020
A change in the weather pattern will take shape across the United States by next week, which will allow warmth to build up in the West, likely bringing record heat to the Southwest.
For most of April, a high pressure system has been situated over the Gulf of Alaska, but it will move into the western Lower 48 by next week.
The jet stream will swing into southern Canada as this occurs, allowing a dome of air to build over the Southwest by the middle of the upcoming week.
Temperatures tend to warm up when the jet stream bulges northward, so many parts of the West will have their warmest air so far this year.
A dome of high pressure will sit on the Southwest early to mid-next week
This heat will likely accelerate the snow melting process in the mountains of the West, which will raise the concern of flooding.
Forecast Details
Warmth was already starting to build in the West late this week. The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Los Angeles is expecting "a taste of summer with a heat wave" lasting through the weekend.
Heat advisories are in effect for parts of Southern California, including Los Angeles. The NWS has also issued excessive heat warning for the Phoenix area and parts of southeastern California, while excessive heat watches have been extended farther north into southern Nevada.
Heat Alerts
By late this weekend, highs will be 10-15 degrees above average from the Southwest to the Northern Plains. This will bring Phoenix to the century mark, along with 90s across the Southwest, and 80s to the Great Basin, California's Central Valley and as far north as the Central Plains by Sunday.
The heat will build further into the middle of next week. Much of the West will see highs 10-25 degrees above average between Monday and Thursday. Las Vegas and Tucson could climb into the 100s by Wednesday, while 80s could reach as far north as eastern Montana on Thursday.
Forecast Highs Compared to Average
Dozens of record highs are possible from California to Colorado and New Mexico, largely on Wednesday and Thursday.
A few of these records include Las Vegas (99 degrees), Phoenix (105 degrees), Albuquerque (88 degrees), and Reno, Nevada (86 degrees). Some of these cities could break records on multiple days.
Las Vegas has never reached 100 degrees before the first of May. Phoenix could approach its all-time April record high of 105 degrees, set most recently in 2012.
Potential Record Highs
Furthermore, overnight lows could be record warm.
Los Angeles and Sacramento may see a night with temperatures staying in the low 60s, Tucson the mid 60s and Las Vegas the low 70s. Each of these could set record warm overnight lows on at least one night next week.
This heat could stick around for a while.
The latest 6- to 10-day temperature outlook from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center highlights the West, especially the Four Corners region, as having the highest odds of above-average temperatures into early May.
Temperatures are also likely to remain warmer than average in South Florida, where Miami has been smashing heat records this month.
Long-Range Temperature Outlook
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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