Fans try to cool down at a cooling station during the 2013 Stagecoach country music festival on Sunday April 28, 2013. (Photo by Omar Ornelas / The Desert Sun)
The record-breaking heat wave kicked it up another notch on Sunday — breaking Stagecoach records for the second day in a row.
It hit 107 degrees at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, where more than 45,000 people have crowded in for the Stagecoach Festival.
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We just went from the coldest-ever Coachella weekend to the hottest.
The 106-degree temperature at the Empire Polo Grounds today tied a festival record — and could hit an all-time record, too.
“It is 106 degrees, but that could easily be higher. The temperatures are still climbing,” AccuWeather.com meterologist Alan Reppert said about 3:40 p.m.
The hottest day in Coachella festival history was 106 degrees on April 28, 2007.
It is also veering on an all-time record for the area, which was a 107-degree high on April 21, 2009.
Medical staff issued a few reminders: Wear comfortable clothing. Drink plenty of water. Avoid sugary drinks and alcohol. Good luck with that.
Serious props to We Are Augustines, who hit the Coachella main stage early this afternoon. My iPhone has me believe it’s 106 degrees here in Indio, and they gave it 110 percent.
“We are trying to soak this s— up, because we are headed to England next week and will be wearing jackets,” the lead singer shouted.
There really is only one explanation for the small crowds: It. Is. Hot.
The medical crew on scene asked festival goers to remember to hydrate — and, no, those sugar drinks don’t count.
Wear comfortable clothes, pace yourself, and cut back on your alcohol intake while the heat stays.
When it’s this hot, the only place to be is The Do LaB, where water mists and high powered water guns drench everyone in sight. Check out this shot of the crowd at the lab right now.
When Goldenvoice promoted its Coachella weekends as identical, it forgot to consider Mother Nature.
Temperatures at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio hit an all-time low last weekend, when the mercury hit only 71 degrees Saturday.
It bounced back with a vengeance this weekend and has already hit the top five warmest festival days ever, according to data from AccuWeather.com.
It has hit 103 degrees this afternoon, up dramatically from the 88-degree average, meteorologist Erik Pindrock said at 3:35 p.m.
Of the 29 days the festival has been held since it became an annual event in 2001, the temperature had boiled into triple digits only four times before Friday.
And there is no relief in sight.
“We will see lots of temperatures in the 100- to 105-degree range both Saturday and Sunday. There won’t be any relief, really, with clouds or anything like that,” Pindrock said.
Local lore says that when the campers and tens of thousands of people sweep into the Empire Polo Grounds, the heat follows. It’s partly true.
During nine of the 11 previous years of the spring festival, the temperature spiked above normal.
The most memorable was on April 28, 2007, when the mercury hit 106. That was record heat for the festival and 16 degrees above normal.
But, as festival fans who hit the grounds last weekend know, the temperature can also drop dramatically. It has stayed below average three times in festival history: 2002, 2003 and the first weekend of 2012.
Before last weekend, the coolest day was April 27, 2002, when the temperature hit only 77 degrees. That was a 13-degree dip below normal.
Weekend 2 attendees, take note: This ain’t your predecessors’ Coldchella.
 Coachella Weekend 1 was cold and slightly rainy, as seen during the Arctic Monkeys' set on Friday. (Crystal Chatham, The Desert Sun) |
 Sunshine and triple-digit heat is on tap for Weekend 2, much like this scene from Coachella 2008. (Chris Pizzello, The Associated Press) |
The lineup may be the same, but Mother Nature will put on a very different show this weekend.
“It’s going to be the exact opposite of last weekend,” said Erik Pindrock, an AccuWeather meteorologist. “It’s going to be sunny, hot and dry.”
Temperatures are expected to reach 98 degrees Friday, 101 on Saturday and 102 on Sunday, with few or no clouds providing shade for festival-goers, he said.
“Even for you guys in April, this is above normal,” Pindrock said. The average high at this time of year is 86 degrees.
A week ago, it was a different story as stormy weather earned the first running of the festival nicknames like Coldchella and Rainchella.
A cold low-pressure system brought clouds, gusty winds and, on Friday, 0.08 inches of rain to Palm Springs, Pindrock said.
Highs in Indio only reached 72 degrees Friday, 67 on Saturday and 76 on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Overnight lows dipped into the 40s.
Sunglasses and bikinis were still in fashion among some of the roughly 80,000 people at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, but others bundled up with beach towels and plastic bags and used socks as makeshift mittens.
Before this year, 76 degrees had been the coldest high seen on a Coachella day, a mark set April 27, 2002.
This weekend’s forecast temperatures will be above the average high seen on the October, April and May days on which Coachella has been held over the years.
Before this year’s chilly first weekend, the average high on festival days was 94.5 degrees. Now that mark is 92.3 degrees.
The triple-digit temperatures forecast for this weekend still fall short of the 109-degree high on the hottest-ever Coachella day, April 28, 2007.
MORE COVERAGE:
• Avoid sunburn, dehydration, heat exhaustion: Dr. Andrew Ordon’s tips for Coachella festival-goers
• Coachella fashion tips: Rock the look
Dr. Andrew Ordon (Michael Snyder, The Desert Sun)
This week, Ordon offered up suggestions for how to avoid three health issues most likely to ruin one’s Coachella experience:
• Sunburn
• Dehydration
• Heat exhaustion
Even though rain clouds are expected Friday for the first day of Coachella, take it from me — you can still get sunburned on a cloudy day, especially if you’re outside all day.
I’d imagine you can get dehydrated on a rainy day, too. I mean, think about it: How much of that rainwater is going to end up in your mouth?
What I’m getting at here is that, rain, shine or otherwise, you might want to check out Ordon’s column for tips on staying out of the first aid tent at the polo grounds.
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MyCoachella.com is a blog dedicated to covering the desert music scene, including the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach Country Music Festival. Meet Our Team
For the second year, this year's Coachella Music Festival is two weekends: April 12-14 and 19-21. Stagecoach is one three-day fest: April 26-28.
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