California's heat wave will “recur” this weekend.

Daily temperature records around California continued to shatter this week as an unusual October heat wave hit the state, with little relief expected for much of the interior – and even parts of the coast – in the next few days.

Although the current hot spell peaked Wednesday, the high-pressure system pressing across much of the Southwest will intensify again this weekend, producing nearly two maximum temperatures, according to Kyle Wheeler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. It will cool between 4 and 8 degrees across the Southland on Thursday and Friday – but still remain warmer than average for this time of year – before returning to potentially record-breaking highs on Saturday and Sunday.

“Hot temperatures will return Saturday,” the weather service’s Oxnard office said in a weather forecast for Thursday morning. The Climate Prediction Center warned that dangerous heat was likely across much of Central and Southern California this weekend, with highs of 90 to 110 degrees threatening temperature records.

“This weekend we will see those peaks again on both Saturday and Sunday,” Wheeler said. The Mohave Desert and Coachella Valley are under an excessive heat warning that has been extended through Sunday and Monday, while much of inland Southern California, including Burbank and the mountains of Los Angeles County, will be under an excessive heat warning over the weekend stand.

Due to the warmer temperatures, some Californians are referring to this stretch as the “second summer,” especially on social media.

But Crystal Oudit, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey, said that's not really an accurate term, especially when the Bay Area and much of California often experience heat waves in September and October.

“Technically, this is still a continuation of summer for us,” Oudit said when asked about the idea of ​​a “second summer.”

“It’s pretty normal for us to have breaks (during heat events),” she said.

She noted that the Bay Area typically experiences some of the warmest temperatures in September, although the extent of that heat wave into early October – and the magnitude of the temperatures – makes it somewhat rarer.

Over the past two days, daily heat records have fallen across the state.

On Wednesday, the temperature in Woodland Hills reached 111 degrees, surpassing the previous Oct. 2 record of 109 degrees set in 1991. At Palmdale Airport, the temperature was 105 degrees, surpassing the old record of 101 degrees set in 2020 . Inland, temperatures reached 110 degrees at Lake Elsinore, breaking the record of 106 degrees set in 2012.

In central California, Fresno Yosemite International Airport set a daily record on Wednesday when the temperature reached 102 degrees, breaking the previous record of 101 set in 1980. As did Merced, which reached 103 degrees, surpassing the high of 101 set in 1905.

Several daily heat records were broken in Northern California on Wednesday, including at Stockton Airport, where the temperature reached 105, breaking the old record of 101 set in 1952. And in Modesto it reached 104, breaking the previous record of 99 degrees set in 2012.

Several areas also broke records for low temperatures, with the mercury never falling below 81 degrees in Indio on Wednesday, surpassing a record of 71 low temperatures set in 1906.

On Wednesday, Glamis in eastern Imperial County was the hottest place in the country, with temperatures reaching 114 degrees. According to the National Weather Service, Palm Springs and Indio tied at 117 degrees at this point Tuesday.

That rise to 117 degrees tied the record for the hottest October day in the contiguous U.S., according to Tony Fracasso, forecaster with the weather service's Weather Prediction Center, although he noted that the finding was still preliminary. On October 2, 1980, Mecca, Riverside County reached 117, setting the record for the warmest day in October.

“We're talking about temperatures that are hot not just because of the desert, but because of the weather conditions,” said Alex Tardy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego. “This heat is not only in Southern California, but also in Northern California, Nevada and Arizona. It has a big impact on the Southwest.”

According to the National Weather Service, Phoenix experienced a series of record-breaking hot weather, reaching a daily high of 108 degrees on Wednesday, following an all-time October high of 113 degrees the previous day. Las Vegas has repeatedly set records, increasing the number of days at or above 100 degrees per year to 107, which is already a week above the previous record set in 1947.

While San Francisco didn't set any records, it hit a high of 95 degrees on Wednesday, which is particularly rare for the typically balmy coastal city, especially in October. According to Rachel Kennedy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey, temperatures in San Francisco have reached above 90 degrees in October only in 31 of the last 150 years.

“Those were definitely our hottest days on the coast this year,” Kennedy said, although she noted that the Bay Area’s weather is often warmest in late summer and early fall.

Campo and Palm Springs also hit October record highs for their respective cities on Tuesday: Campo hit 105 degrees and Palm Springs hit 117 degrees.

Dry, summer temperatures have also hampered Southern California firefighters' efforts to stop three wildfires that broke out weeks earlier.

Among the biggest challenges was the border fire in the San Bernardino National Forest, where containment peaked at 83% on Sunday before the fire spiraled out of control, triggering more evacuations as containment weakened. Crews have worked to bring the fire back under control and containment has increased back to 79% as of Thursday morning. The fire has scorched 43,922 acres.

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the other major fires in the area – the bridge fire and the airport fire – were 98% and 96% contained, respectively, as of Thursday morning.