Super Heated : Temperatures Topple More Records, but Things Should Cool Off Today

Southern California’s preview of summer continued Tuesday as heat records fell for the second consecutive day.

But the Santa Ana condition that generated the warmth is expected to abate today with sea breezes moving back in to cool things off by 8 to 10 degrees, the National Weather Service said.

Downtown Los Angeles reached a sweltering 96 degrees Tuesday, breaking the previous April 2 record of 90 set in 1960, the weather service said. The low Civic Center temperature of 67 became the highest minimum for the date. The old record was 63, also set in 1960.

The hottest Los Angeles Civic Center temperature on record for any April day is 100 degrees, set on April 23, 1910.

Thermal was the hottest spot in the continguous 48 states with 98 degrees. Death Valley was only a degree hotter than Los Angeles. Some other recorded temperatures were 90 at Bakersfield, 91 at Blythe, 92 at Long Beach, 96 at Monrovia, 91 at Needles, 95 in Palm Springs, 91 in Riverside, 95 in San Gabriel and 93 in Santa Ana.

San Francisco set a new heat record for the date with an 88. So did Oakland, which had 86, and Santa Maria, with 89.

Forecasters said the inland high-pressure area that was causing the dry Santa Ana winds was beginning to weaken Tuesday and this should allow the return of cooling ocean air, along with patchy low clouds and fog along the coast during the night and morning hours.

Today’s highs should range from 72 to 77 at the beaches and 84 to 88 in the inland valleys, the weather service said. The downtown Los Angeles high is expected to be near 86 and Thursday is expected to be even cooler.