Here is what you need to know in the March 13, 2026, Streamline newsletter:
San Diego County’s heat wave will push temperatures even higher today, though meteorologist Megan Parry's microclimate forecasts point to a little bit of relief this weekend.
Breaking overnight, new details are emerging about a U.S. military plane crash in Iraq that claimed the lives of four American service members.
And in consumer news, Kroger — the parent company of Ralphs and Food 4 Less — has rolled out a ready-to-go meal deal that some shoppers are calling a game changer.
THE STREAMLINE
WATCH — ABC 10News brings you The Streamline for Friday, March 13 -- everything you need to know in under 10 minutes:
TOP STORY
San Diego County is in the grips of a record-setting heat wave Friday as an unseasonable extended hot spell blanketed Southern California.
"Daily record highs will be broken in several locations," said the National Weather Service. "A return of onshore flow will bring some cooling to the coastal basin over the weekend, but temps will remain above average nonetheless."
A strengthening high-pressure atmospheric system combined with winds out of the east will bring widespread record heat until the end of the week. High temperatures will be 20 to 25 degrees above average west of the mountains through Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
COUNTY WEATHER ALERTS | HOURLY FORECAST
Maximum thermometer readings through Friday are likely to reach the low to mid-80s near the coast and the 90s across the inland valleys, tying or breaking records, the NWS reported. The East County highlands and desert locales will get less dramatic warming, up to about five degrees, meteorologists said.
An NWS heat advisory for coastal and valley communities will be in effect until at least 8 p.m. Friday. The weekend will be less toasty but still unusually warm for this time of year, according to the NWS.
Next week, even hotter conditions are expected to arrive, bringing all- time record temperatures for March in some locations, forecasters reported.
Authorities advise the public to prevent heat-related health problems over the period by drinking plenty of fluids, staying out of the sun, limiting strenuous activities to early morning or evening, taking refuge in air- conditioned spaces if possible and checking in on potentially at-risk friends, relatives and neighbors.
Story by City News Service
MICROCLIMATE FORECASTS
Coasts
Inland
Mountains
Deserts
BREAKING OVERNIGHT
The U.S. military says a KC-135 refueling aircraft supporting operations against Iran crashed in western Iraq, killing four of its six crew members.
The U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said the crash followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace,” and that the other plane landed safely.
Here’s what is known so far about the tanker, which is the fourth publicly acknowledged U.S. aircraft to crash during the war against Iran:
The KC-135 is a long-serving tanker plane
The KC-135 Stratotanker is a U.S. Air Force aircraft used to refuel other planes in midair, allowing them to travel longer distances and maintain operations longer without landing. The plane is also used to transport wounded personnel during medical evacuations or conduct surveillance missions, according to military experts.
Based on the same design as the Boeing 707 passenger plane, the tanker has been in service for more than 60 years, supporting the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps as well as allied aircraft, according to an Air Force description. The aging plane is set to be gradually phased out as more of the next-generation KC-46A Pegasus tankers enter service.
Despite upgrades over the years, the KC-135s' age has fueled concern about their reliability and durability.
“The last of these planes were produced in the 1960s,” said Yang Uk, a security expert at South Korea’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies. He added that the transition to the KC-46A has progressed more slowly than expected.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the Air Force last year had 376 KC-135s, including 151 on active duty, 163 in the Air National Guard and 62 in the Air Force Reserve.
A basic KC-135 crew has three people: a pilot, co-pilot and boom operator. Nurses and medical technicians are added in aeromedical evacuation missions.
Refueling typically happens at the back of the plane, where the boom operator is located. A fuel boom is lowered to connect with fighters, bombers or other aircraft. On many of the planes, the boom operator works lying face down while looking out of a window on the underside of the plane.
Some KC-135s can also refuel planes from pods on their wings. The tankers also have room to carry cargo or passengers if needed.
Refueling tankers could play an increasingly important role if the Iran war drags on, as U.S. aircraft may need to fly longer missions to pursue Iranian forces retreating deeper into the country, said Yang.
Cause of crash and condition of crew not immediately known
The U.S. Central Command said four of the six crewmembers on board the crashed KC-135 have been confirmed dead and that rescue efforts are continuing. It said the circumstances of the crash are under investigation but that the loss of the aircraft was “not due to hostile or friendly fire.”
A U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the developing situation, said the other plane involved was also a KC-135. Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., wrote on X that the other plane landed safely in Israel.
Yang said it would be rare for a refueling tanker to be downed by enemy fire because such operations are usually conducted in the rear of combat zones.
The crash came after three U.S. F-15E fighter jets were mistakenly downed last week by friendly Kuwaiti fire.
Past accidents
KC-135s have previously been involved in several fatal accidents. The most recent occurred on May 3, 2013, when a KC-135R crashed after takeoff south of Chaldovar, Kyrgyzstan, while supporting the war in Afghanistan.
In that crash, the crew experienced problems with the plane’s rudder, according to a U.S. Air Force investigation. While they struggled to stabilize the plane, the tail section broke away and the plane exploded midair, killing all three crewmembers onboard.
The most serious mid-air collision involving the plane happened in 1966, when a B-52 bomber carrying nuclear bombs struck a tanker near Palomares, Spain.
The accident caused the tanker to crash, killing four onboard. The disaster led to an extensive decontamination effort to clean up nuclear material dispersed when conventional explosives in the hydrogen bombs detonated after hitting the ground.
Story by Kim Tong-Hyung and Adam Schreck, Associated Press
CONSUMER
Kroger, the parent company of Ralphs and Food 4 Less, is trying to win over budget-conscious shoppers with their new ready-to-go meals.
WATCH — Scripps News Group’s Jane Caffrey looks at the pre-made meals that are designed to be quick, easy, and cheaper than takeout:
WE FOLLOW THROUGH
A counter-drone technology company in San Diego is detailing how potential Iranian drone attacks might unfold — and how emerging detection tools could help identify such threats — in response to an FBI alert that Iran may be considering using drones to target California.
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