Sweltering Heat Descends on LA
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Southland slipped into the grips of another heat wave Thursday, with Los Angeles County temperatures forecast to reach triple-digit territory in several communities and to be even higher Friday and over the coming days.
The Los Angeles and Orange County metro areas will see highs in the mid-90s on Friday and Saturday. The valleys could hit a high of 104 Thursday and 110 on Friday and Saturday.
"A big area of high pressure just sets and gets blocked right on the Four Corners region," CBS2 Meteorologist Garth Kemp said. "That gives us hazy, hot, humid conditions."
The mountains or deserts have a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms.
A heat advisory will be in force until 9 a.m. Friday in the San Gabriel Mountains, the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area and the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys, immediately followed by a more serious excessive heat warning scheduled to last until 9 p.m. Saturday. The excessive heat warning will be in effect in the Antelope Valley at the same time.
A list of cooling centers is available here or by calling 211.
Forecasters urged Southland residents to protect themselves and their loved ones from what will be oppressive heat. People who work outside should schedule strenuous activity for early morning and evening hours, wear loose-fitting clothing, drink lots of water and take frequent breaks.
Residents are also urged to check on relatives and neighbors and to never leave kids, seniors or pets in a parked car, even with the windows cracked open, because a vehicle's interior can quickly reach lethal levels in the heat.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health urged people living without air conditioning to take advantage of cooling centers, shopping malls and libraries to stay cool.
The NWS forecast sunny skies in Los Angeles County Thursday and highs of 77 at LAX; 86 in Avalon; 87 in Downtown L.A. and Long Beach; 94 in San Gabriel; 95 in Pasadena and on Mount Wilson; 96 in Burbank; 103 in Saugus; 104 in Woodland Hills; 106 in Palmdale; and 108 in Lancaster.
Temperatures will rise only marginally in the Antelope Valley Friday but climb substantially in other communities. Downtown, for instance, will go from 87 Thursday to 96 Friday, Pasadena from 95 to 102, San Gabriel from 94 to 104, Woodland Hills from 104 to 110, and Saugus from 103 to 108.
Sunny skies were also forecast in Orange County Thursday, along with highs of 73 in Laguna Beach and San Clemente; 74 in Newport Beach; 89 in Irvine; 91 in Mission Viejo; 92 in Anaheim. 94 in Yorba Linda; and 95 in Fullerton. Orange County temperatures will also be higher Friday, when Fullerton will hit 100 and Yorba Linda 101.
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