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SoCal heatwave builds
Southern California braced for a prolonged heat wave with a heat advisory taking effect at 10 a.m. Sunday across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, where temperatures may hit 107 degrees, and the advisory was set to run through 10 a.m. Tuesday before an extreme heat watch took over through Friday evening.
“temperatures may hit 107 degrees”
Under that watch, forecasters said temperatures could soar as high as 112 degrees in some of the hottest inland areas, while KTLA’s Kirk Hawkins said Sunday morning, “The expectation is that this is going to be a really, really hot week.”
KTLA also reported highs Sunday forecast to reach around 96 degrees in downtown Los Angeles, 106 degrees in the San Fernando Valley and Inland Empire, 97 degrees in Orange County, and 104 degrees in the High Desert.
The National Weather Service warned that heat-related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat events and advised residents to check on relatives and neighbors, particularly those who may be vulnerable to high temperatures.
MyNewsLA said the heat wave would continue until next weekend, with overnight lows remaining in the 70s in the valleys and the temperature reaching 97 degrees in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday.
Forecasts and health risks
NBC Los Angeles said a combination of high daytime temperatures, warm nights and monsoonal moisture would make conditions particularly uncomfortable, with temperatures expected to remain high through the weekend before climbing further Tuesday through Thursday.
NBC4 meteorologist Shannah Mendiola said, “Temperatures in the lower 90s in downtown, 91 today, 93 for Sunday, and then we keep the climb going as we head to Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, with 96 on the way,” as inland communities could see triple-digit temperatures.
Los Angeles Times quoted the National Weather Service warning of a high risk of heat-related illness as a heat wave stretched from Tuesday through Friday, calling it “a long duration heat event, during which several daily records will likely be broken.”
The Los Angeles Times also reported that between Sunday and Wednesday there was a 30% to 40% chance of highs of at least 110 degrees in the San Fernando Valley and a 50-50 chance of highs of at least 100 degrees in downtown L.A.
The same Los Angeles Times piece said the weather service urged people to drink plenty of fluids, stay in air-conditioned rooms when possible, stay out of the sun, check on the welfare of relatives and neighbors and be alert to the threat of fire.
Heat, fire danger, and extremes
Beyond Southern California, Weather West described a pattern in which anomalous warmth spread across California over the past 30 days, with the most anomalous warmth occurring at night as elevated overnight minimum temperatures rather than during the daytime.
“probably quite close to the coast itself”
Weather West said a very strong late-summer ridge would build over northern Mexico and southern Arizona, with an anomalous lobe extending westward directly over southern California, producing very hot temperatures not only in desert regions but also in SoCal inland valleys and “probably quite close to the coast itself.”
Fox 5 San Diego & KUSI News reported that extreme heat and humidity would stick around through next week, with highs of 90 to 115 degrees expected and an Extreme Heat Warning remaining in place through 8 p.m. next Friday for San Diego County deserts, including Borrego Springs up to 115 degrees.
The KTLA report said the persistent heat could increase wildfire danger as vegetation dries out, while McGraw noted that no significant wind event was currently in the forecast.
Los Angeles Times added that the weather service projected top temperatures of 119 to 120 at Furnace Creek in Death Valley through Friday, and it described a 68-year-old traveler from France dying Aug. 17 in Death Valley National Park after his car broke down on a 116-degree day.