Strong Surf Expected for Palos Verdes Peninsula Friday

PALOS VERDES, CA -- A beach hazard statement has been issued Thursday night for the Palos Verdes Peninsula and along the coast for the Southland, the National Weather Service said.

A beach hazard statement, which is slightly less serious than a high surf advisory, will be in effect from Thursday until Friday night, with forecasters expecting surf of 3-6 feet accompanied by strong rip currents, an NWS statement said. Along the Orange County Coast, the beach hazard statement will be in effect from Friday morning through Monday afternoon.

Swimmers caught in a rip current are advised to swim parallel to shore until able to break free.

A cooling trend is expected to start Friday. Temperatures are forecast to be 10-15 above the average, but "nothing record breaking," said NWS meteorologist Todd Hall.

The day's forecast highs include 88 degrees Fahrenheit in downtown L.A. and 90 in Burbank. Friday's highs will be sharply lower -- 77 downtown, 82 in Burbank -- but still generally 2-4 degrees above the norm, Hall said.

The high temperatures are the result of high pressure moving in after the recent rains, which is a typical pattern, forecasters said. Santa Ana winds are also contributing to the warm weather, but they'll begin giving way to onshore winds late Friday, Hall said.

The wind and high temperatures are creating an elevated danger of wildfire, according to forecasters, but no fire watch advisories or red flag warnings are now in effect. Because of recent rains, the vegetation is more moist and less combustible then it has been, they said.

The NWS forecast sunny skies Thursday in L.A. County, along with highs of 77 in Palmdale; 78 in Lancaster; 79 in Avalon and on Mount Wilson; 84 in San Gabriel and Saugus; 85 at LAX and in Pasadena; 86 in Long Beach; 87 in Woodland Hills; 88 in downtown L.A.; and 90 in Burbank. Friday's temperatures will be up to 10 degrees lower in some communities, then stay the same or fall only marginally on Saturday.

Orange County was also forecast to have sunny skies Thursday, along with highs of 74 in Newport Beach and San Clemente; 76 in Laguna Beach; 82 in Irvine and Mission Viejo; 83 in Anaheim; and 85 in Fullerton and Yorba Linda. Temperatures will fall a few degrees Friday and again Saturday.

-- City News Service, photo via Shutterstock