The summer’s most dangerous heat wave is set to broil SoCal, elevating fire and health risks
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- The season’s most dangerous heat wave so far is expected to hit Southern California this week.
- Extreme heat and fire weather advisories have been issued beginning Wednesday, set to last for several days.
The season’s most dangerous heat wave is expected to bake Southern California and much of the American Southwest this week, with triple-digit highs and elevated fire conditions set to begin Wednesday and last for several days.
Extreme heat and fire weather advisories have been issued for much of inland Southern California, with peak temperatures expected Thursday and Friday. Downtown Los Angeles is forecast to reach 94 degrees, while Woodland Hills could hit 108. Los Angeles County valleys and the Inland Empire probably will heat up to 104 degrees. Palm Springs could hit above 113 and Death Valley is bracing for 120 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
“This is going to be the most significant heat wave of the season so far,” said Ariel Cohen, the meteorologist in charge at the weather service’s Oxnard office. “We’re going to be having a once-a-year, once-every-other-year-caliber heat wave. ... Everyone needs to be getting prepared now.”
Although this is typically the hottest time of year, he said, highs at the end of the week will reach near records, 10 to 20 degrees above normal. People need to stay hydrated, make sure they have access to air conditioning and refrain from outside activities in the heat of the day in order to avoid heat-related illness, Cohen said.
“The most impactful heat and fire weather concerns will pick up Wednesday through Sunday,” the weather service warned in a statement. “Consider reassessing outdoor plans for that time, stay hydrated, and be careful with anything that can spark a fire.”
The high-pressure system driving this heat wave will not only persist over the region for a prolonged period, but is also expected to be “stronger than normal,” said Kristan Lund, another weather service meteorologist in Oxnard.
“This high pressure is sitting out over us for a long duration,” Lund said. “We could see temperatures still elevated for this time of year ... into early next week.”
The system’s length and strength will be compounded by some offshore winds, which will help keep any marine influence at bay and keep temperatures high, even overnight.
Lund said much of Los Angeles could remain in the 70s overnight Thursday, which is particularly concerning for sensitive populations — such as elderly people, those who are pregnant or laborers working outdoors — who can be more vulnerable to heat illness without time to recover at night.
A widespread heat wave is expected to intensify fire concerns across California as temperatures rise and landscapes further dry out. The Gifford, Rosa and Gold fires are burning.
An extreme heat watch has been issued for Wednesday through Saturday across the region, with highs of up to 106 possible across the Los Angeles County valleys, the Ventura County valleys, the San Luis Obispo County valleys and mountains, the Santa Barbara County mountains and San Bernardino County deserts. The Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego County mountains could see highs of up to 99 degrees Thursday and Friday, while the Inland Empire is forecast to reach 104 degrees.
In and around Death Valley, officials warn that “above normal daytime temperatures combined with minimal overnight relief from the heat” could increase the threat for heat-related illness.
The extreme heat watch stretches east across much of the desert Southwest, reaching into southwest Arizona and southern Nevada. Phoenix could see highs of up to 114 degrees at the end of the week and Las Vegas is expected to reach up to 110.
With an already parched landscape, Cohen said the heat and low humidity will compound ongoing fire concerns. Several fires ignited and rapidly grew last week during a less dramatic heat wave.
But this week’s higher temperatures will create exceptional fire weather, said Cohen, who urged residents to have multiple avenues to receive emergency alerts and be ready to evacuate, if needed.
It will begin warming up Tuesday, and by Wednesday, temperatures could soar past 100 degrees in the valleys, forecasters say.
A fire weather watch, which signals that critical fire weather is expected, has been issued from Wednesday through Saturday for much of the Los Angeles and Ventura County mountains and foothills. The watch warns that the “unseasonably hot and unstable air mass [is] capable of producing explosive fire behavior.”
“We’re expecting there to be very favorable conditions for fires to grow,” Cohen said. “The fires start to fuel themselves in this type of environment.”
The hot weather could be accompanied by some monsoonal thunderstorms in the mountains and deserts by the weekend, which could further elevate fire concerns given the chance for lightning, he said.
That pattern will keep the area unstable — and likely hot — into next week, when long-range forecasts show mercury could begin falling, said Sam Zuber, a weather service meteorologist in San Diego.
We’re “probably going to see a slight cooldown into early next week — but it’s still going to be above normal,” Zuber said.
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