Summer heat to camp out for Labor Day

Mother Nature is turning up the heat on Southern California.

The region, after enjoying a cooler-than-customary summer, is in line for temperatures topping 100 degrees in some inland communities today and Thursday. And although the mercury is likely to dip a bit as early as Friday, temperatures should remain higher than usual through the Labor Day weekend.

Tuesday’s heat, the product of a high-pressure system that muscled in from Arizona, was just a warm-up for what’s to come. One of Los Angeles County’s hottest spots, Woodland Hills, reached 103 degrees Tuesday but is expected to top out around 108 degrees today and Thursday. Downtown Los Angeles hit 86 degrees Tuesday, but today’s temperatures are forecast to jump to 95 degrees.

“Things should be noticeably warmer, possibly the warmest so far this summer, which is quite unusual for it already being the end of August,” said Jamie Meier, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “School’s about to start, Labor Day is next week and we’re just now getting into our hottest weather.”

Meier added, however, that few, if any, records are likely to be set this week. For example, the record high for an Aug. 28 remains 99 for downtown and 109 for Woodland Hills. Still, the heat “is certainly more than we’ve seen so far this summer.”

It already was plenty warm Tuesday for Steve Lee, an employee at the Wal-Mart store on Kelly Johnson Parkway in Santa Clarita.

Lee normally works indoors as a sales associate, but Tuesday he was assigned to fill in for a sick co-worker and had to spend the afternoon collecting shopping carts. He brought a gallon jug of ice water to work, but that didn’t keep him cool.

“It’s hot. I feel like passing out,” Lee said. “I move from aisle to aisle as quickly as I can so that I can get back inside as quickly as possible.”

And he wasn’t happy to learn that the Santa Clarita Valley, whose temperatures are tracked at the weather service station in Newhall, is forecast to hit 105 degrees today.

“Makes me feel I should call in” sick, Lee said, joking.

Two other residents of the Santa Clarita area, Paul and Barbara Mueller, employed another beat-the-heat strategy: They cooled off, with their two sons, at a Starbucks coffeehouse on Copper Hill Drive.

“We are trying not to run up our air conditioning bill,” Paul Mueller said.

But not everyone was willing to go that far. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported “unusually high power demand” Tuesday, the third-highest level of the summer, despite temperatures that weren’t particularly blazing.

“If temperatures continue to climb as forecast for the rest of the week, we’re likely to see even greater demand for power and set new records each day,” Henry Martinez, the agency’s chief operating office for the power system, said in a statement. The public is urged to take power-saving measures, including setting thermostats at 78 degrees.

It was a different story in the cool coastal areas. Lt. Mike Beuerlein, a marine safety officer for Huntington Beach, said Tuesday’s crowds “were not quite as big as they’ve been the previous week.”

“We had a consistent wind today; it was a beautiful day, but it wasn’t that hot,” he said.

But temperatures are expected to edge up just slightly today. For instance, Huntington Beach climbed to 80 degrees Tuesday and the city and other Orange County coastal cities are forecast to post highs of up to 83 degrees today.

Inland Orange County will, of course, be toastier, with highs projected to range from 93 degrees to 98 degrees. And in the valleys of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the mercury should climb past 100 degrees, possibly as high as 116 degrees in the Coachella Valley.

Blame the hot weather on a high-pressure system “that’s basically sitting over the area. It’s making things kind of like a pressure cooker, keeping things warm during the day and overnight,” Meier said.

“It’s also going to weaken that sea breeze that we usually get in the afternoon,” she said.

“I love to leave my windows open at night, and it’s not going to happen the next couple of days,” said Meier, who lives in the San Fernando Valley. The weather, she said, “is just not pleasant.”

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stuart.silverstein@latimes.com

ann.simmons@latimes.com

Times staff writer David Haldane in Orange County contributed to this report.

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Precautions

Here are basic tips for dealing with extreme hot weather:

* Dress for the heat. Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing. Light colors will reflect some of the sun’s energy. Wear a hat or use an umbrella.

* Drink water. Carry water or juice and drink continuously, even if not thirsty. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which dry the body. Avoid using salt tablets unless directed to do so by a physician.

* Eat small meals and eat more often. Avoid high-protein foods, which increase metabolic heat.

* Slow down. Avoid strenuous activity. If strenuous activity is unavoidable, do it during the coolest part of the day, usually between 4 and 7 a.m.

* Stay indoors when possible. If air conditioning is not available, stay on the lowest floor, out of the sunshine. Electric fans do not cool, they only circulate the air.

* Never leave children or pets in cars; the temperature inside rises quickly and can cause death.

* If pets are left outdoors during the day, ensure that they have plenty of water and shade.

Sources: American Red Cross, Times wire reports