Showers Finally Cool a Sizzling Sunday

It was a wet end to a hot day in Southern California--a record hot day Sunday in Los Angeles.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Frank--dissipating off the coast of Mexico and downgraded to a tropical depression--slung clouds and moisture Sunday over parts of Los Angeles and Riverside counties and contributed to record-breaking heat. The thermometer reached an even 100 degrees in downtown Los Angeles.

The last gasps of the storm dumped about 2 inches of rain Sunday evening on the Antelope Valley, said Jeff House of WeatherData Inc., the Wichita, Kan.-based company that provides forecasts for The Times.

The sudden rain caused a flash flood that blocked the Pearblossom Highway north of the hamlet of Llano, California Highway Patrol Officer Karen Faciane said.

Heavy rains put a portion of the highway just east of 165th Street East under water about 6 p.m., she said. A few hours later, officers were able to escort vehicles through the roadway, Faciane said.

Rain also fell in eastern Riverside County and was due late Sunday night in parts of San Diego County, said WeatherData’s House.

The combination Sunday of Frank’s humidity and a flow of hot air moving from the inland deserts to the coast conspired Sunday to break temperature records in three Southern California cities, including the 100-degree mark in downtown Los Angeles.

That mark topped the former record of 98 set on Aug. 9, 1935, according to the National Weather Service.

Long Beach recorded a high of 101, beating the 1935 record of 99. It was 102 in Simi Valley, where the previous record of 101 was set in 1994.

Chatsworth had a high of 105, tying a record set in 1980. Santa Ana tied a 1965 record with a high of 97.

The forecast for today calls for cooler temperatures--but rain, possibly heavy, in the mountains, and the chance of flash flooding in the San Fernando, San Gabriel and Antelope valleys.

By Tuesday, forecasters are calling for only a chance of some clouds.

As for today, House said, “There will be storms in the mountains of L.A. County, that’s for sure. Even if you don’t get more rain, the clouds should help make things less hot.”

At the Los Angeles Civic Center, the high today is predicted to be 91.

In the San Fernando Valley, highs should be in the mid 90s to 100s.

Highs today at the beaches should be in the upper 70s, with inland temperatures reaching the mid-90s.

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Times staff writer Phil Willon and correspondent Edward M. Yoon contributed to this story.