Heat, High Surf And Thunderstorms Expected In LA County

LOS ANGELES, CA — Another heat wave is expected across Los Angeles while the local mountains face a chance of thunderstorms and Los Angeles County beaches will see big waves and strong rip currents. Elevated fire conditions will last through the early part of the week, according to the National Weather Service

"There will be significant warming across the area... with triple-digit heat likely across the valleys and deserts," according to the National Weather Service. "Skies will be mostly clear except for areas of morning low clouds at the coast. There will be a slight chance of thunderstorms over the eastern San Gabriel mountains and adjacent portions of the Antelope Valley ..."

Forecasters said the heat is the result of a high-pressure system covering the southwestern United States moving toward the west. The result will be daily high temperatures in the 90s and low 100s in the valley and interior areas.

Downtown Los Angeles will see highs in the upper 80s throughout the week while the San Fernando Valley will bake under near triple-digit heat, according to AccuWeather. Coast Los Angeles will be a bit cooler with highs in the upper 70s Monday and Tuesday before cooling down later in the week. Along the coast, morning clouds will help keep things cooler, but temperatures will still be slightly above normal for the next few days.

Los Angeles County beaches, meanwhile, we see high surf and dangerous riptides, the weather service warned.

"Dangerous rip currents and breaking waves due to elevated, long period surf of 3 to 5 feet through tonight, rising to 4 to 6 feet Monday," the National Weather Service warned Sunday. "Surf will peak on Tuesday with heights up to 5 to 7 feet possible."

The county's south-facing beaches will see the highest surf.

Humidity levels are expected in the 10 percent to 25 percent range, and combined with 20 to 30 mph winds, there will be "elevated" fire conditions in some Los Angeles County mountain areas and the Antelope Valley, according to the NWS.

Sunday's high in downtown Los Angeles reached 86 degrees, with similar numbers expected through at least Wednesday. Santa Clarita, Lancaster and Woodland Hills were among the areas seeing triple-digit highs Sunday, with Lancaster topping out at 104. Van Nuys reached 95 degrees and Pasadena reached 94 degrees.

Temperatures should drop by a few degrees heading into next weekend, according to the NWS.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.