Temecula Hottest Place in Country

Temecula was the hottest place in the country on New Year's Day, according to the National Weather Service.

The high was recorded at 89 degrees, and today's forecast is for 87 degrees, which would make it the hottest place in the country for the second consecutive day, the service reported.

All of Riverside County was among the warmest spots in the country, with highs moving into upper 80s today in many cities. El Cajon in San Diego County is forecast to top out at 86 degreees.

In Lake Elsinore, the predicted high of 83 would be record high there for Jan. 2 since the NWS began keeping records in 1948, said Jamie Moker, a meteorologist with the service.

"This is the kind of weather system we generally see during the summer,'' Moker said. "This is typically the rainy season. A nearly stationary high-pressure ridge combined with a very shallow marine layer is causing these kinds of temperatures in the Inland Empire.''

Moker said afternoon temperatures in the lower 80s would continue through Thursday in Riverside County, with weak offshore air flow and a few high clouds tonight through Wednesday.

As high pressure breaks down Thursday and Friday, he said a cooling trend would begin.

Weekend highs are forecast to be in the 70s. A low-pressure system will take an easterly track into California, with dry, cool conditions following it. Forecasters don't see any Inland Empire rain on the horizon for at least a week.

Snow at ski resorts in the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains has mostly melted since a weak low-pressure system that only produced a little rain in the Los Angeles Basin the week before Christmas dumped about 16 inches of snow on the mountains around Big Bear Lake.