San Diego County residents should take precautions to avoid heat-related illnesses this weekend amid a heat wave expected to generate triple-digit temperatures.
"It was hot out there," National Weather Service meteorologist Brett Albright said Thursday. "It was pretty warm but it didn't really approach a lot of the records today."
El Cajon did hit a record temperature for the date, hitting 100 degrees. Albright said Friday will also be warm but probably won't approach daily records in many areas — except for perhaps Ramona, where the record for Oct. 3 is 99 degrees.
"A strong ridge of high pressure building aloft, in addition to offshore winds, will bring hot conditions to the lower slopes of the mountains, valleys and to within a few miles inland of the coast Friday through Sunday," according to the National Weather Service.
Saturday is expected to be the hottest day with daytime highs being 10- 20 degrees above normal for this time of year.
"Heat can be stressful to animals and humans, making it hard for the body to acclimate and remain hydrated," the weather service said. "Without precautions, even healthy adults could experience heat stress and illness."
Precautions individuals can take to ward off heat-related illnesses include rescheduling strenuous outdoor activities to early morning or evening hours; wearing light, loose fitting clothing; taking frequent breaks in shaded or air-conditioned spaces; and drinking plenty of water.
The weather scheduled a heat advisory for the valleys from 11 a.m. Friday to 8 p.m. Sunday. A heat advisory was also scheduled for coastal and mountain areas from 11 a.m. Friday to 8 p.m. Saturday.
No advisories were issued for the deserts, though highs in the 100s are also expected there this weekend.
A slow cooling will begin along the coast on Sunday but it will still be quite hot inland, which will start to cool early next week as the ridge slowly weakens, the weather service said.
