Heat Gives Southland a Lesson in Spelling Relief: B-E-A-C-H

Summer-like temperatures prompted more than 300,000 people to seek relief at Los Angeles County beaches Saturday, and those who remained inland found little respite from smog that reached first- and second-stage alert levels in more than a dozen areas.

A high-pressure system over Southern California pushed temperatures to 93 at the Los Angeles Civic Center and two degrees hotter in the San Fernando Valley, while the beaches were a cooler 74 degrees. The Civic Center record for April 13 is 99 degrees, set in 1898, the National Weather Service said.

The same system contributed to high smog readings. The first second-stage alert of the year--signifying that the air is unhealthful for everyone--was called in the Corona-Norco area. The South Coast Air Quality Management District also called first-stage alerts in 14 other areas from southeast Los Angeles County to east San Bernardino County.

Today’s weather and smog readings are expected to imitate Saturday’s, weather forecasters said, with temperatures near 90 downtown and in the valleys. But the high-pressure system is expected to wander east beginning Sunday night, leaving behind low clouds, fog and temperatures dropping to the mid-80s on Monday.