Results tagged “heat”

Well, hello, Autumn! As of 9 a.m., it was already 72 in Van Nuys, 66 in downtown L.A. and 64 at LAX and in Long Beach. But temperatures are going to soar today, prompting a Red Flag for fire danger and officials to tell the public to take heed (drink that water, stay cool). At the height of the day, the National Weather Service predicts temperatures over 100 in the Valley (100 in Burbank, 101 in Van Nuys, 104 in Woodland Hills), 96 in downtown L.A. and Long Beach, 89 at LAX, 84 in Santa Monica and 101 in Pasadena.

As four major fires burn in the greater Los Angeles region, officials from the LA County Health Department, who raised this week's heat advisory to a heat alert, want to make sure people stay safe. "We have two problems in Los Angeles County; each makes the other worse," Dr. Jonathan Fielding, county health officer, said in opening statements at a press conference this morning. "Summer has finally come." He said the heat exacerbates the fires which in turn worsens air quality.

Take the high heat and the smoke from the Morris Fire and it's just not going to be a fun next few days outdoors. “While people don’t need to be told it’s hot outside, they do need to be reminded how to take care of themselves, children, the elderly, and their pets when the weather gets hotter,” said LA County Health Officer Jonathan E. Fielding in a statement this morning. “When temperatures are high, prolonged sun exposure may cause dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke."

Starting tomorrow, the region will be within a high pressure system resulting in some hot weather that will even have the beach areas suffering somewhat. Then tomorrow expect mid 80s at the beaches and temperatures into the 90s more inland. Some parts of the San Fernando Valley could reach in the low 100s. Thursday could see even hotter temperatures followed by a just slightly cooler weekend, but not by much. As for today: expected highs are in the upper 70s at the beaches, upper 80s inland and into the 90s in the Valleys.

With parts of the Valley at 83 degrees at noon, it was a welcome surprise after yesterday's blistering temps and with LA County public health officials extending a week long heat alert through today. Of course, the Antelope Valley has already hit triple digits with the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys to follow, but the National Weather Service is no longer predicting that nor are they reporting high temperatures at the height of the day. Temperatures for both valleys are in the 80s. However, an air quality adivosry has been sent out for the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys stating the air is unhealthy for sensitive--old, young, sick prone--individuals.

dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. Never leave children, elderly people, or pets unattended in closed vehicles, even with the windows ‘cracked,’ because temperatures inside can quickly rise to life-threatening levels.”

       

Was it hot enough for you this weekend? Summer is in full effect here in sunny SoCal, which means the mantra for many over the weekend was "Must. Counteract. Heat." The answer for many was simple: Hit the beach!

Typical for the Los Angeles area, beaches are experiencing upper 60s to mid 70s while more inland, highs will reach the mid 80s, according to the National Weather Service. In the Hollywood Hills and Valley, expect the 90s. However, the LA County Public Health Office today released a warning for the Santa Clarita Valley: "High temperatures are forecasted for today and tomorrow in the Santa Clarita Valley, with the heat index forecast to reach 104 degrees today and 101 degrees tomorrow.... 'While people don’t need to be told it’s hot outside, they do need to be reminded how to take care of themselves, children, the elderly, and their pets when the weather gets hotter,' said Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, Director of Public Health and Health Officer.'"

It looked to be like another great cool day on the Westside yesterday. Around noon, temperatures were in the low 70s. Then came the late afternoon when temperatures were all of the sudden hovering around 93 degrees, which was a record for UCLA, beating 89 degrees in 1990. What the heck happened? The National Weather Service says it was all in the the crazy wind we've been getting, forcing hotter temperatures as the day progressed. Basically, as wind from the north came over the mountains into the LA Basin to sea level, the air heated up in what is called "compressional heating," explained the Service. As for today and Friday, temperatures in the 90s will be found in the valleys and inland areas.

Talk about a difference in temperature. That's nearly 30 degrees for areas about 30 miles apart. But as predicted earlier this week, the National Weather Service says today would get hotter... well, at least for the inland areas. Other temperatures in the area include 95 in Woodland Hills, 78 in downtown LA, 71 in Long Beach, 72 in Santa Monica and 90 in Granada Hills. So basically, the Valley got screwed today.

The heat wave comes to a cooler calm today, but yesterday was still a scorcher for some. Here's the breakdown from the National Weather Service:

Years old records were broken for the second day in the row yesterday. Here's how it broke down, according to preliminary results from the National Weather Service:

  

From thunderstorms and light rain on Monday to a set of days in triple digits, this week has been all over the place weather wise. Today, it's much cooler and tomorrow it could be even more so with chances of rain, which of all days couldn't come at a worse time with the Eagle Rock Music Festival and LA Weekly's Detour Festival. Below are weather maps forecasts for today and Saturday.

Today, our computer is not about to explode like it was for the past two days in the sweltering heat. "The National Weather Service forecast highs for Thursday of between 69 and 79 near the Los Angeles County coast, 86 to 94 inland, 84 to 94 in the San Fernando Valley, 87 to 92 in the San Gabriel Valley, 88 and 93 in the Santa Clarita Valley and 82 and 91 in the Antelope Valley," reported the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

One day of fall heat was bearable, but two days of heat and citizens just don't care anymore. Damnit, they're turning on the AC. From the DWP at 5:18 p.m. today: "Customers' energy use hit a new record today of 5,709 megawatts, shattering the previous record of 5,123 megawatts set Oct. 2, 1991. On Tuesday, energy use reached a peak demand of 5,533 megawatts, marking a record demand for fall and the fifth highest September load on record. The highest load recorded for the month of September is 5,938 megawatts set on Sept. 4, 2007 during last year's Labor Day 'heat storm.' The highest load recorded so far this year is 6,053 megawatts, reached on June 20, 2008."

Sciencedude says it could be a hot one again in Orange County, which only means the same pattern will hit LA County. "Orange County will experience a second straight day of unusually hot weather today, with temperatures reaching into the 90s or higher as high pressure lingers over the West Coast, the National Weather Service says. Inland areas will suffer the worst heat, with temperatures running 10-15 degrees above normal." The Valley is looking to break double-digits again and that probably means the power consumption is going to once again spike.

As temperatures reached high temperatures today, the LA Department of Water & Power announced spiked energy usage by residents this afternoon and is urging energy conservation. "Any time energy demand exceeds 5000 megawatts we need to begin conserving wherever possible, while not jeopardizing anyone's health or safety," said David Nahai, LADWP General Manager and Chief Executive Officer, in a e-mail notice. The DWP expects demand to reach up to 5500 megawatts. Has anyone run over to Nahai's house to see if he's conserving energy?

"The bottom line is that we're definitely going to be living in a warmer Southern California," said Bill Patzert, a NASA Jet Propulsion Lab climatologist and oceanographer who co-authored a study that examined Los Angeles' daily temperature data for a hundred year period.

Thunderstorms are predicted for the Southwest, but they will mostly develop over Arizona and parts of Utah. As for California, there is a very slight chance for thunderstorms in Southeastern California and Northern California (where dry lightening strikes caused over 1700 fires in the state since June 20). As for Los Angeles weather in the recent spate of hot weather predictions, Ken Clark, Expert Senior Meteorlgist with Accuweather.com says most of the reported extreme heat will be in Northern and Central California. "We're pretty much going to have fairly typical weather for this time of the year. It's nothing out of the ordinary." And if it does get really hot, LA County has opened cooling centers.

From 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., an excessive heat warning is in effect, according to the National Weather Service. And going along with the state's Flex (Your Power) Alert, the NWS has also issued an excessive heat watch through Thursday evening.

Time to hunker down and flex your power, so says state officials. "The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), charged with managing the electricity grid in California, has issued a Flex Alert for Tuesday, July 8th through Thursday, July 10th," an e-mail alert states. "Due to the current hot weather, electricity conservation is necessary."

The National Weather Service is saying weather this holiday weekend "poses modest danger for fire," per the LA Times. But winds are expected to remain calm while humidity stays within critical ranges. Temperatures this weekend are forecasted to range from the mid-70s to the mid-80s to high 90s, depending if you are in a coastal area, in the city or in a valley, respectively.

In 10 days, 30 homes have been lost among the 1,500 fires that have blazed through around 400,000 acres of land. "All my life I knew it might burn -- and it finally did," said a Big Sur resident who lost her home. "But when you live in a place like that, you have to take the consequences." If there ever was a warning not to do your own fireworks this week, this would be it. It's a fragile time and Southern California has been lucky.

The recent heatwave was expected to transition to cooler temperatures beginning last Saturday, but there was no such luck, forcing weather forecasters to say today would be that day as the Valley would get a much needed marine layer (as of 8:30 a.m., skies are blue here in the Valley). If correct, instead of triple digits that became the norm the past four days, parts of the Valley would start to feel a lot cooler. Woodland Hills is expected to have a high of 92 degrees while just a few miles east in Sherman Oaks, the high should be 83.

Southern California may be getting the extreme heat, but NorCal has it worse with fires -- over one hundred by the Associated Press' count.

Face it, it's hot. And with some people, especially the elderly, living without AC in poorly insulated homes, cooling centers can literally be a lifesaver. Three cooling centers in the Valley will remain open tonight until 8:00 p.m. tonight and will be open tomorrow from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. There's also free water! The centers are located at parks in Canoga Park, Sunland and Northridge. [Via Mayor's Office Press Release]

What the LA Department of Water & Power is saying today during the heatwave: "Yesterday's energy peak reached 5856 megawatts, and was the second highest load in June. Today's peak demand is expected to reach or exceed the record of 6165 megawatts, set on July 24, 2006. While the LADWP has enough power to meet the city's needs, extraordinary demand during prolonged hot temperatures puts a tremendous strain on the city's electrical distribution equipment. Customers are asked to do their part by cutting back on energy usage. For its part, the LADWP's crews remain prepared to respond to any outages. As of 2 p.m., less than 60 out 1.4 million customers were experiencing outages."

Temperatures are expected to rise to 113 degrees in some parts of the San Fernando Valley today, according to the National Weather Service. Also, a regional red flag warning has been issued, but the Los Angeles Fire Department has yet to call a city red flag, which would affect parking in hillside neighborhoods.

As temperatures easily reach over 100 in some parts of the region, it is affecting those who are vulnerable. An 90-year-old woman driving in San Bernardino County died when she stepped out of her car to search for her husband who left the car for unknown reasons. They were found 50 yards from their car and the 116 degree heat killed Virgil Sanders and the husband had 2nd and 3rd degree sunburns.

As Spring turns to Summer this weekend, the temperatures are expected to mark the season change with a bang starting today. The National Weather Service is predicting today's temperatures to range from 95 to 105 in region's valleys. Downtown is expected to be in the 90s and beaches should stay normal (upper 60s, low 70s).