Perilous Times and Climate Change
Los Angeles records hottest temperature ever
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The National Weather Service says downtown Los
Angeles has recorded an all-time record high of 113 degrees as a heat
wave bakes California.
Weather forecaster Stuart Seto says the record high was reached about
15 minutes after noon Monday.
The old record was 112 degrees on June 26, 1990.
California has been in the grip of a heat wave since high pressure
built over the West late last week.
It's been a scorching start for fall in California and it only looks to
be getting hotter.
The weather service issued red-flag warnings for dangerous wildfire
conditions in the mountains and valleys of Los Angeles and Ventura
counties.
A high of 84 degrees was predicted in San Francisco and up to 105
degrees in the Sacramento Valley. Desert Valley could see a peak of 115
degrees.
"It's been a long time since we got this hot," said Stuart Seto, a
weather service forecaster in Oxnard. "It's basically high pressure
over the area and we've got some weak offshore flow from the mountains
to the ocean. As the air from the mountains sinks, it compresses and
gets warmer. Like a Santa Ana (condition), but the winds aren't as
strong."
"It's like our unexpected summer," he added.
Temperatures were expected to drop a few degrees Tuesday in many areas
but the valleys will continue have triple-digit temperatures, Seto said.
On Sunday, the mercury hit 105 degrees in downtown Los Angeles on
Sunday, and El Cajon in San Diego County hit 106 degrees.
The heat sent people to the beaches in droves, packing shores that were
relatively empty during the gray and gloomy summer. Los Angeles County
lifeguards estimated that about 350,000 hit the beach in the Santa
Monica Bay area west of downtown Los Angeles.
Several small wildfires broke out Sunday but were quickly knocked down,
including one that came close to homes in South Pasadena before
firefighters stopped it.