Temperatures in a small Southern California desert community soared to 108 degrees on Wednesday, tying the highest March temperature ever recorded in the U.S. The blistering conditions came as the Southwest experiences a record-shattering winter heat wave, which is forecast to stick around through the first half of next week. 

Heat alerts remain in effect through Sunday for more than 41 million people, said CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan.

The 108-degree day in North Shore, California, ties a mark first reached  by Rio Grande City, Texas, in 1954. The ongoing heat wave could potentially produce hundreds of additional record temperatures before letting up, Nolan said.

The aptly named Thermal, California, was forecast to hit 110 degrees on Friday.

Triple-digit temperatures also came earlier than ever before in Phoenix when the Arizona capital hit 102 degrees Wednesday,  according to the National Weather Service. The previous record was set almost 40 years ago, on March 26, 1988, the only other time Phoenix temperatures have climbed into the hundreds during the month of March.

Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist with the weather service, said this has been one of the most significant March heat waves in recorded history.

“We’ve broken so many records yesterday and even today we’ve broken quite a few so far,” he said.

Las Vegas hit 99 degrees Wednesday, smashing its hottest March day on record, which had been 93 degrees in 2022.

Downtown Los Angeles reached 94 degrees, beating its previous daily high of 87 degrees in 1997.

And the desert destination of Palm Springs, California, was 104 degrees, tying its hottest March day on record from 1966.

It will continue to be 20 to 30 degrees above normal March temperatures for the rest of the week in the Southwest before dropping slightly over the weekend. Many other cities in the region are expected to see their earliest 100-plus degree day on record, according to the National Weather Service.