Major Heat Wave To Bring Triple Digit Temps Across LA Region

LOS ANGELES, CA — A heat wave will get underway in the Southland this weekend, creating an "elevated fire danger" that will extend into next week, forecasters said Friday.

The peak of the heat wave is expected to occur Monday, when highs reach 97 degrees in Downtown L.A.; 103 in Pasadena and Burbank; 104 in San Gabriel; 106 in Fullerton and Yorba Linda; 107 in Saugus and Lancaster; and 109 in Woodland Hills.

Friday's temperatures will be roughly normal, but they'll be 10-20 degrees above average Monday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Robbie Munroe.

The weather service attributed the heat wave, which will get going in some Southland areas Saturday before spreading to others Sunday, to a "strong upper-level high-pressure system over the region combined with weakening onshore flow." A statement added that through Thursday and possibly longer, triple-digit heat will be possible across valley areas, the mountains at lower elevations, and the deserts.

The NWS said it is certain that even coastal areas "will also warm significantly during this heat wave, with highs mostly in the 80s near the beaches and between 90 and 100 across inland portions of the coastal plain, including Downtown Los Angeles."

The heat wave will also bring warm overnight temperatures, the statement said, adding that there is a potential for "significant heat impacts across much of southwest California" for residents without air conditioning.

Additionally, "the hot and dry conditions combined with very dry fuels" -- the vegetation -- "will bring an extended period of elevated fire danger to southwest California."

Forecasters urged residents to protect themselves and those close to them from the torrid conditions by finding access to air conditioning, reducing time spent outdoors, drinking plenty of water, checking on friends and neighbors -- especially the elderly -- and by never, ever leaving children, seniors or pets in parked cars, even with windows cracked open, because the interior of a vehicle parked in hot weather can rapidly reach lethal temperatures.

Partly cloudy skies were forecast in L.A. County Friday, along with highs of 76 in Avalon and at LAX; 80 in Long Beach; 83 in Downtown L.A.; 88 in Burbank; 89 on Mount Wilson and Pasadena; 90 in San Gabriel; 96 in Saugus and Woodland Hills; 102 in Palmdale; and 103 in Lancaster.

Sunny skies were also expected in Orange County, along with highs of 68 in Laguna Beach; 70 in San Clemente; 74 in Newport Beach; 80 in Mission Viejo; 82 in Anaheim and Irvine; 83 in Fullerton; and 85 in Yorba Linda.

City News Service