As Merced County July 4 festivities draw near, here’s what to expect for weekend weather

While blue skies and sunshine continue to gleam over Merced County, residents celebrating the Fourth of July can expect cooler temperatures to prevail during their holiday activities.

Friday’s high of 95 degrees is projected to be the warmest Merced will heat up to through at least Wednesday, according to National Weather Service predictions. This week’s 90-plus degree heat will subside after Friday.

High temperatures are projected to dwindle to the mid-to-low 80s come Sunday and continue into Monday’s holiday. Nights will cool off to a comfortable mid-50s range through Sunday.

Fourth of July heat is anticipated to rise no higher than 87 degrees, according to the NWS. Mercedians planning to watch fireworks light up the sky Monday can expect to enjoy a clear, cloudless night. Low temperatures are projected to sink to only 60 degrees.

“Basically, it’s going to look pretty nice,” NWS meteorologist Jim Bagnall said of Independence Day’s weather.

The temperatures projected for July 4 are nearly 10 degrees cooler than average for this time of year in the Merced region, which typically hovers around 95 degrees.

The dip in heat this weekend is the opposite of typical weather patterns around July 4, when temperatures typically rise higher, Bagnall said. “We are cooling down instead.”

A slight breeze is anticipated to blow through the Merced area in the coming days as well, but gusts aren’t projected to exceed 20 mph.

Residents advised to use fireworks with caution amid drought

Although milder-than-average conditions are headed Merced’s way, the county and most of the state are still exceptionally dry and experiencing extreme drought conditions, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System.

Extreme drought is the second-most severe classification among the five-tiered NIDIS system. Regions labeled as such often see negative impacts to agriculture, a severe and long fire season, low reservoirs and insufficient water supply for urban, agricultural and wildlife needs.

Given the dry conditions, residents should use good sense and especially remember to enjoy fireworks safely this weekend, Bagnall said.

The California State Fire Marshall’s website has tips to enjoy safe and sane fireworks without causing injury or sparking a wildfire, such as refraining from use near dry grass or other flammable materials.

Merced Count residents should also be aware that all local law enforcement agencies will be patrolling to enforce firework laws. Individuals caught with illegal fireworks will face a fine of $1,000 and up to one year in jail.

The Merced Police Department has already seized thousands of illegals fireworks and officers have made multiple arrests in the weeks leading up the July 4 holiday, according to authorities.

Illegal firework activity can be reported to the Sheriff’s Office non-emergency phone line at (209) 385-7449.

Avoiding starting a fire is especially of concern in regions like Merced County, where nearly 97% of the region is classified as experiencing extreme drought as of the last NIDIS update on Tuesday. Nearly 60% of California was also labeled as having extreme drought.

January through May in Merced has been the second-driest period on record in 128 years, according to NIDIS. Precipitation since the start of the year has tallied just 1.65 inches. During normal years, precipitation would be expected at 8.15 inches by now, Bagnall said.

Conditions are slightly better in Merced measuring from the water year, which starts in October, rather than the calendar year. Merced County has measured 7.44 inches of precipitation since October, a deficit of 4.31 inches from normal levels.

As the West enters the often brutally-hot summer months, Bagnall said its unlikely that much rain will fall to significantly close the gap between current and average precipitation.

“We’re going into our typically dry part of the year,” he said. “This is not where we’re typically going to make up ground.”

No rain is on the forecast for Merced in the foreseeable future, Bagnall said it’s still possible the region could catch the edge of a southwest monsoon or part of a tropical storm from the pacific headed east.

“It would be kind of a random hit or miss kind of thing,” he said. “But if we get something, any little bit would be helpful.”