Temperature records set in Orange County over Labor Day weekend, heat wave continuing through Friday

The extreme heat wave that started Aug. 30 and sent crowds to the beaches to cool off over the long Labor Day weekend will stretch through at least Friday, according to weather officials.

Temperatures soared over the weekend, with new records set in inland Orange County cities like Anaheim and Santa Ana, where the mercury climbed to 107 and 108 degrees respectively on Sunday.

Meanwhile in coastal Orange County, Newport Beach recorded a high of 97 on Sunday — close, but not quite high enough to upend its previous record of 102 degrees set in 2017.

A man uses an extra large hat to protect himself from the sun as he takes a Labor Day walk along Sully Miller Lake in Huntington Beach Central Park.

(James Carbone)

Amid this, Southern California Edison reported a power outage in Laguna Beach at 1:08 p.m. on Monday that affected 4,216 customers. Power was restored to all users at 6:56 p.m. the same day.

Spokeswoman Gabriela Ornelas said Edison was glad to have been able to restore service within the same day. She noted the utility had received reports of other outages related to the heat over the weekend, but the cause of the Laguna Beach outage was still under investigation as of Tuesday afternoon.

Crowds of beachgoers swim in the Pacific Ocean to cool down from the hot temperatures in Huntington Beach on Labor Day.

(James Carbone)

National Weather Service meteorologist Stefanie Sullivan on Tuesday said the massive upper level high pressure system hovering over the region for the past several days “doesn’t seem to want to weaken or move. We’ve been stuck under this pattern that’s bringing this heat.

“We’ve had some monsoon moisture moving in from the east [so there is humidity as well],” Sullivan said.

She noted a similar heat wave took place over Labor Day weekend in 2020. She added that heat waves aren’t atypical for Southern California in September, often brought by Santa Ana winds as summer moves into fall. She said that what’s remarkable about the current heat wave is the number of days it’s continuing to pummel the area. Most, she said, tend to last around two to three days.

Beachgoers cool down from the hot temperatures at Huntington Beach’s boardwalk shower.

(James Carbone)

Sullivan said the region will see some eastern winds that tend to make coastal cities warmer, but there is also a possibility of some cloud cover from an incoming tropical system.

Daytime highs are forecast to be in the low 80s to mid-90s along the coast through Friday, with lows in the 70s.

The Orange County Health Care Agency extended its heat advisory through Tuesday, encouraging residents to take measures to avoid heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Orange County has a number of cooling centers, which are free, indoor air-conditioned sites where members of the public can go to escape the oppressive heat. Healthcare officials warn residents to stay hydrated, wear light clothing, stay out of the sun and avoid strenuous activities if outside or in a building that does not have air conditioning.

Thousands of beachgoers use umbrellas at Huntington Beach on Labor Day.

(James Carbone)

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