Heat Sets Records, Brings Out Sun Lovers

Record and near-record high temperatures drove thousands of people to Southland beaches Tuesday, some to escape the heat and others to celebrate the end of a gloomy late winter and early spring.

The 93 degrees recorded in central Los Angeles tied a record set in 1898 for the date. The mercury also reached 93 in Pasadena and Long Beach, breaking records set in 1992 and 1965, respectively.

With a high of 86, Torrance set a record for the date too, passing the 84-degree mark of 1977.

“It’s a palm tree and Popsicle day,” said Scott Diedrich, a lifeguard in Laguna Beach, where as many as 5,000 people flocked to the sand. The crowd was more than double the typical turnout for an April weekday, Diedrich said. The reason: “It’s absolutely gorgeous.”

Orange County’s highest temperature was in Santa Ana, which hit 98 degrees--a record there for the date and just one degree below the nation’s high of 99 in Death Valley. Santa Ana’s previous high for April 24 was 86 in 1995, said Eric Edge, a meteorologist with Weather Central, which provides forecasts to The Times. “It does look a little warm out there,” he said.

Edge added that the heat is likely to linger today, followed by a cooling of five to eight degrees to the low 80s inland and mid-60s along the coast Thursday, Friday and through the weekend.

“This would indicate that we are exiting the winter months,” he said. “You’re starting to see the ending of cooler temperatures.”