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Brutal late-summer heat wave coming to Southern California
Environment Aug 29, 2022
| Photo courtesy of Max Pixel
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A brutal heat wave was bearing down on Southern California Monday, with temperatures expected to push into triple-digit temperatures as early as Tuesday and continuing through the Labor Day weekend.
Temperatures will rise a few degrees Monday, then spike even more on Tuesday and stay that way through next weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
“High pressure will produce a prolonged warming trend with only a minimal marine layer,” according to the NWS. “By midweek very hot conditions will develop with triple-digit heat for many valley and mountain locations through the Labor Day weekend. This heat may be record-breaking and will likely produce a very high heat illness risk.”
The NWS issued an excessive heat watch from Wednesday morning through Sunday evening for most of Los Angeles County. Forecasters said the Santa Monica Mountains and Antelope, San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys could see temperatures as high as 110 degrees during that stretch. Temperatures up to 105 are possible in the Los Angeles County mountains. Even areas near the coast will be impacted, with temperatures of up to 97 degrees anticipated in inland areas such as Beverly Hills, Culver City and Hollywood.
“Be prepared to drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors,” forecasters warned. “Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. This is especially true during warm or hot weather when car interiors can reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.”
Temperatures will be more manageable at the beaches, but will still climb into the upper 80s in Santa Monica beginning Wednesday. Long Beach will see highs in the upper 80s, rising to 89 and 91 next weekend.
In Orange County, things are expected to get hotter a little sooner, with an excessive heat watch taking effect Tuesday morning and continuing through Sunday evening for coastal and inland areas, with temperatures near 100 anticipated, and the Santa Ana Mountains and foothills, where the heat could reach 108.
Overnight lows will not offer much relief either, staying in the 70s and even in the low 80s in some of the hotter areas.
Health officials advise residents to stay indoors with air conditioning whenever possible, drink plenty of fluids and avoid hiking or other strenuous activity in extreme heat.
Children and pets should never be left in unattended vehicles for even one minute.
The extreme heat and low humidity could create elevated fire weather conditions as well, NWS forecasters said.
Cooling centers for Los Angeles County can be found at https://ready.lacounty.gov/heat/. Cooling centers for the city of Los Angeles can be found at https://emergency.lacity.org/la-responds/beat-heat, or by calling 311.
