You are listening to KPBS were news matters. KPBS can keep you informed when breaking news happens. Sign up for KPBS breaking news text alerts and get trusted information when you needed. Text the word news to 96 to 20. This is KPBS Midday edition I'm Maureen Cavanaugh. To some we get all prepared for a stormy adventure, where breaking out the flip-flops and turning on the AC. This week's heatwave has been pretty surprising. Alex Tardy is here to explain to us. Good afternoon. I are we getting this type of weather? Yes of this is pretty remarkable. This time last year we were dealing with a similar heatwave. It seems like we have lingering effects of the three years in a row, where we have had these excessive heat waves at different times of the year. The one thing though, it's not as warm as we saw in March or October of this past year where we are running about 3 1/2 degrees above normal. Temperatures in the mid-80s in February is warm. Right. You said that. Now are the El Niño driven storms still being developed a but are they bypassing us because of this Ridge of high pressure? More or less. We look at El Niño on a weekly basis. And it actually strengthened slightly last week. The actual sea surface temperatures along equatorial Pacific Ocean south of Hawaii tend to run extremely warm, just as warm if not slightly warmer than 1997, 1998. Now the question remains as when I those storms going to get our way, and it looks like we're going to have to wait. It's seems I can a few cool down after Wednesday of next week. Keep the flip-flops out for Valentine's Day, it might be one of the warmest of Valentine's Day on record. By the way that is 85 degrees is the warmest one we've seen on record. On the weekend of the 18th and 19th is our first chance of cooling off and getting a few showers. That we may have to wait to the end of February before we see any real rain. Okay. As you say, it's going to be hot more ways than one, Valentine's Day this year. And we will have to wait till the end of next week to see some more: coming our way. Yes. We really do. We can't blame all this on El Niño. El Niño was there, the water is incredibly warm. The atmosphere is not quite responding, really it is quite all across the country there are extremes in terms of dry, lack of snow, cold and dry. But we are on the form and of those storms right now. The storms continue to churn in the central Pacific, but they are being steered away. I've been speaking with Alex Tardy, warning coordinator with National Weather Service in San Diego. Alex, as always. Thank you. Thank you.
Unseasonably warm weather is expected to push temperatures into record-breaking territory again Thursday in San Diego County.
On Wednesday, a high of 86 degrees in San Diego topped by 5 degrees a previous record for a Feb. 10, set in 1988; a 87-degree high in Chula Vista was 4 degrees above the prior record from 1988; Ramona's high temperature of 85 degrees was 4 degrees over the previous high of 81 degrees, also set in 1988; a 90-degree high in El Cajon was 3 degrees higher than the old record from 1988; and Vista topped by 1 degree a previous record of 85, set in 1988, according to the National Weather Service. On Tuesday, daily heat records were broken in Vista, San Diego, El Cajon, Chula Vista, Escondido, Ramona and Alpine.
Summer-like conditions are expected to persist throughout San Diego County Thursday.
"Very warm and sunny weather will continue today. High temperatures in the 80s will be very common at lower elevations and a few daily high (temperature) records will probably fall again," according to the weather service.
High temperatures Thursday were predicted to be 76 to 81 degrees near the coast, 83 to 88 degrees inland and in the valleys, 72 to 80 degrees in the mountains and 83 to 88 degrees in the deserts.
Forecasters said that this month's start was the warmest since 1963 — but not by much. In early February 2015, average temperatures were only about 1.4 degrees lower than this year and highs at least in the 80s stretched over four days.
It's expected to cool down a little late next week, forecasters said.
"The current period of warmth is expected to continue through the early part of next week, before more seasonal weather arrives for the second half of next week," according to the weather service.
The ridge of high pressure causing the region to heat up is expected to weaken slightly Friday and Saturday. Somewhat cooler conditions are expected, although temperatures will still be higher than average.
Gusty Santa Ana winds are expected to return Sunday and Monday as temperatures rebound back into record-breaking territory.
