Temperature hits the high spot

Ryan Carter

Just after munching on pizza with her family and friends at

McCambridge Park, Jenna Ranieri, 6, paused to think about the

warmer-than-usual day.

“I asked my mom, ‘How do you know it’s winter when it’s so hot?’”

she said. “These are hard questions for people.”

And then in frustration, she said, “I just don’t understand the

weather,” and walked away.

Ranieri was not alone.

The El Nino effect once expected to bring a wetter than normal

winter hasn’t drenched Burbank in rain. In fact, January left the

city, and most of Southern California, nothing but sun-drenched and

hot.

Friday was the hottest Jan. 31 on record in Burbank as

temperatures reached 90 at Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport,

surpassing the previous high of 87, forecasters said.

The highest January temperature ever recorded in Burbank was 92,

on Jan. 18, 1971, National Weather Service meteorologist Curt Kaplan

said.

The average high temperature for January in Burbank is 67. This

month, not including Friday, its was 75 with no measurable rain.

“Downtown Los Angeles has had 12 days this month over 80 degrees,

which is incredible,” Kaplan said.

A combination of high pressure and offshore winds kept the rain

away while warming up the valleys and coastal areas, Kaplan said.

But it will be cooling off rapidly in the coming days as an area

of low pressure from the north brings cooler winds, officials said.

Today, the temperature will top out at 75, officials said. Local

parks are expected to be popular spots this weekend, with people out

for picnics, basketball and sunbathing.

“The last three days at this place have been extremely busy,” said

Vi Lasky, special activity leader at McCambridge Park, on Friday.

“We’ve even received a wave of calls with people asking what time the

pool opens.”

The park’s swimming pool does not reopen until summer.