Record-breaking heat expected for weekend, L.A. Marathon

Sweltering heat with temperatures reaching into the 90s is expected to break records this weekend, especially Sunday during the Los Angeles Marathon.

A high-pressure system will build over Los Angeles and Ventura counties during the weekend, creating unseasonably hot weather, said meteorologist Stuart Seto of the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

With temperatures 20 degrees above normal, Seto said the heat will undoubtedly break records that have stood for nearly 64 years.

“The only cool spot you are going to have is if you’re in the ocean,” he said.

Record heat for this time of year is expected Friday and Saturday but may climb even higher on Sunday. Seto warned that the heat could strain the power grid and that outages are possible.

“Sunday is the big day,” Seto said.

Marathon organizers have moved up the race’s start time by 30 minutes because of the expected heat.

The start time for the race is now set for 6:55 a.m., when a temperature of 64 degrees with a humidity of 40% in downtown Los Angeles is expected. By the time the first runners make it to Santa Monica — likely between noon and 1 p.m. — the temperature is expected to have reached 80 degrees.

“Some people are calling it a winter heat wave, but I tend to think it’s more of an early summer,” Seto said.

Despite the heat, marathon organizers say they are prepared. Runners will have access to cooling buses and misting stations stocked with ice and cold towels.

Temperatures are expected to start dropping Monday.

The following is a list of record temperatures from the National Weather Service.

Record Forecast

Friday:

Long Beach 88 (1994) 90

Camarillo 85 (1951) 85

Saturday:

Downtown Los Angeles 88 (1951) 90

Long Beach 85 (1994) 92

UCLA 84 (1994) 87

Camarillo 88 (1994) 90

Sunday:

Downtown Los Angeles 85 (1978) 91

Long Beach 86 (1978) 92

Burbank 86 (1994) 90

Sandberg 77 (2013) 78

Camarillo 88 (1951) 89

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