With a heat wave arriving, cooling shelters open in South County.

June Gloom arrived to coastal Monterey County right on cue—and is already breaking for the first heat wave of the summer. The National Weather Service forecasts high temperatures 10 to 15 degrees higher than normal for inland areas Tuesday, June 4 through Thursday, June 6; Wednesday is predicted to be the hottest day.

A heat advisory is in effect for eastern portions of Monterey County starting Wednesday, June 6. High temperatures in parts of South County could reach the low 100s on Wednesday, and are expected to be in the mid-90s on Thursday. 

National Weather Service officials urge caution for people prone to heat-related illness, and note that conditions are not those normally associated with high fire risk.

"Despite the risk to those sensitive to heat-related illness, the silver lining to this event is that there is no large scale offshore wind expected and overnight temps cool sufficiently, so the marginal fire threat that exists simply due to being warm and dry in the afternoon should remain just that," according to a June 4 forecast statement.

The County of Monterey is planning to operate three cooling centers in Monterey County Free Libraries branches during the heat advisory, in addition to cooling centers operated by the cities of Greenfield and Soledad. These places give people a place to get out of the sun and into air conditioning during the peak heat of the day. 

Scheduled locations are as follows, and all are free to attend:

• Soledad Community Center (560 Walker Drive): 6am-9pm Wed-Thu, June 5-6
• Greenfield Civic Center (599 El Camino Real): 8:30am-4pm Wed-Thu, June 5-6
• King City branch library (402 Broadway St.): 11am-7pm Wed-Thu, June 5-6
• San Lucas branch library (54692 Teresa St.): 11am-4pm Wed, June 5 and 2-6pm Thu, June 6
• San Ardo branch library (62350 College St.): 1-6pm Wed, June 5 and 2-6pm Thu, June 6