Those heading to beaches amid heat are warned of treacherous rip currents and high surf
As the weekend heat wave continues into Sunday, forecasters are warning that the far-flung effects of Tropical Storm Jova will probably mean strong rip currents and high surf at Los Angeles-area beaches.
Given the predictions of waves over 7 feet, the National Weather Service issued a high surf advisory for large swaths of the coast and nearby islands through Monday evening.
“We’re expecting [waves of] about 5 to 8 feet across the south-facing beaches in Los Angeles and Ventura counties as well as the southern coastlines of the islands,” said Kristan Lund, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
As of late Saturday, the cause of the rough surf, Jova — recently downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm — was about 900 miles southwest of Los Angeles and moving to the northwest.
“It won’t be coming all that close to us,” Lund said, “but we do have remnant moisture, which is why we’re getting thunderstorms.”
The Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services has painted over 181 lane-miles with a coating that reflects heat and reduces ambient temperature.
There’s a 30% chance of thunderstorms through Sunday afternoon, which forecasters said would diminish to 15% by Sunday evening. That could bring a threat of flash flooding in some areas.
Yet despite those risks, the steamy inland conditions could drive bigger than usual crowds to the beach, forecasters warned. Though Saturday was expected to be the hottest day of the warm spell, Sunday morning lows will still be 10 to 15 degrees above normal, staying just below the threshold for a heat advisory.
Forecasters advised being cautious at beaches and staying near manned lifeguard towers.
Temperatures are expected to cool down by Tuesday.
There were about 4.2 deaths per 1 million Californians last year where heat exhaustion was a factor. Only once in the last 20 years has the death rate been higher.
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