Forecasters say get ready for a significant heatwave this weekend. Today the Inland Empire will reach up to 100 degrees.
The good news — it's Wednesday and National Hot Dog Day. The not so good news: we've entered the next heatwave.
Coastal areas will see highs between 72 to 76 degrees today with mostly sunny skies this afternoon. Inland coast including inland Orange County will see highs in the low 80s.
Forecasters say to be careful at the beaches as the waters will be rather choppy with strong rip currents and high surf. These conditions will linger until Thursday evening.
Moving inland — the valleys will warm up today with daytime highs as low as 89 degrees, up to 96 degrees for Western San Fernando Valley and Santa Clarita area. It will be warmer in the Inland Empire with some areas reaching up to 100 degrees.
High deserts will see highs between 98 to 108 degrees, and up to 112 in Coachella Valley.
Tonight's lows will drop to the mid 60s, 70s for the deserts.
Forecasters say that the excessive heat will hit the Southland come Friday morning through July 24. Expect temperatures to reach up to 105 degrees for mountains and valleys. Meanwhile initial forecast models show the heatwave will affect the deserts during the weekend for now, with daytime highs up to 117 degrees for the low desert.
Protect a pet from excessive heat
Protect a human from excessive heat
Check in frequently with family, friends, and neighbors. Offer assistance or rides to those who are sick or have limited access to transportation. And give extra attention to people most at risk, including:
On this day in 1955, Disneyland opened up for the first time in Anaheim to customers.
Check out our full list of things to do this week.
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L.A. County had its worst year on record for flea-borne typhus cases, reporting at least 220 cases in 2025. Experts say the disease is difficult to eradicate because humans, animals and vectors all play a part in transmission.
What is Typhus? Typhus is a bacterial disease spread by infected fleas, which are most commonly found on rats, free-roaming cats and opossums. The disease is not spread from person to person and is treatable with antibiotics.
Does L.A. County have a flea problem? L.A. County has been experiencing a year-over-year increase in typhus cases. Officials say the flea-borne disease is difficult to control and that weather can indirectly influence transmission.
Read on … for more on how you can protect yourself and your pets.
L.A. County had its worst year on record for flea-borne typhus cases, reporting 220 cases in 2025. Experts say the disease is difficult to eradicate because humans, animals and vectors all play a part in transmission.
The department investigated outbreaks in central L.A., Santa Monica and Willowbrook. This year, there are 17 reported cases of typhus.
Typhus is a bacterial disease spread by infected fleas, which are most commonly found on rats, free-roaming cats and opossums.
L.A. County has seen an increase in flea-borne typhus cases year-over-year, Aiman Halai, medical epidemiologist at the L.A. County Department of Public Health, told LAist.
“These fleas live on reservoir animals, which in L.A. County are primarily rats, free-roaming cats and opossums,” Halai said. “Any factor that increases the interaction between these animals and humans will increase the risk of flea-borne typhus.”
There is an indirect link between weather and typhus, Halai said, because weather affects animal movement and human behavior, like how much time people spend outside.
Halai said diseases like typhus are difficult to eradicate.
“It's hard to control diseases that involve humans, animals and vectors, because there are so many different factors that play a part in transmission,” Halai added.
As for hospitalizations associated with typhus, Halai said the disease is relatively mild but can progress to serious illness.
“What we're finding is that nine out of 10 cases that we have identified have been hospitalized, and there may be many more cases that are undiagnosed and have not resulted in severe disease,” Halai added.
Other parts of the U.S. are seeing increases in typhus cases, including Texas, Halai said.
Closer to home, the city of Long Beach issued a health alert warning residents about an uptick in typhus cases last year. The city, which has its own health department, reported 39 cases of typhus in 2025, of which 72% were hospitalized.
Jennifer Ann Gonzalez, public affairs officer for the Long Beach Health Department, said following last year’s increase, the department upped its mitigation efforts, including public education and vector control.
“The localized typhus outbreak reported in summer 2025 was controlled, and no additional cases associated with the outbreak have been reported,” Gonzalez said in an email. “To date, no outbreaks have been identified in 2026.”
The disease is not spread from person to person and is treatable with antibiotics. Symptoms can include high fever, nausea, muscle aches, rash and cough. People who think they have it should talk to their healthcare provider.
Infection occurs when feces from infected fleas are rubbed into cuts or scrapes, including flea bites, or rubbed into the eyes.
“Our cases have been as young as one year of age or to over 80 years of age. It's really a disease that can affect anyone at any time in L.A. County,” Halai said.
Pets don’t show symptoms, Halai added, but they act as a vehicle to carry infected fleas from reservoir animals to humans.
To protect yourself and your pets:
Typhus symptoms can start within two weeks after contact with an infected flea and can include fever, headache, muscle pain, nausea and rash.
L.A. County residents can find more information here.
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An expert says fires may destroy coyote dens and disrupt territories, which is why SoCal residents may be seeing more coyotes during mating season now.
Why it matters: While coyotes are mostly afraid of humans, packs can include aggressive coyotes that can be dangerous to humans and pets.
Why now: Spring is mating season, during which coyotes are more active and mark their territories while looking for mates.
What to do if you see one: An expert says it's good to carry a noisemaker like a whistle or a cowbell, and even bear spray. Throwing a rock at a coyote could also discourage it from approaching you.
Go deeper: How to life safely with coyotes.
It’s spring, and that means coyote mating season, not just in Southern California wildlands, but also in the urban landscape. While it’s hard to say whether there are more coyotes roaming the region, the fact that it's mating season means you are more likely to see one.
“Animals are sort of out and about. They're vocalizing. They’re scent marking. They're grooming, they're moving around, they're looking for mates,” said Ted Stankowich, a professor of biological sciences at California State University, Long Beach.
He hasn’t studied the effects of the Palisades and Eaton fires on coyotes, but said fires often destroy coyote dens and disrupt their territories.
“Where one pack might have dominated one sort of larger territory, that territory might be split up. And now you have two packs in there, and you might have two breeding females and more pups,” he said, which can lead to more interactions with humans.
Most coyotes are afraid of people, Stankowich said, but packs may include an aggressive member. Here are his suggestions when encountering coyotes:
What to expect: Mostly sunny skies and cooler temperatures. L.A. and Orange County beaches will see temperatures in the mid 60s to around 70 degrees, though some Orange County coastal areas could reach 76 degrees.
Read on ... to learn about the rain coming later this week.
After a warm weekend, Southern California will see cooler temperatures this week and even some rain over the weekend.
L.A. and Orange County beaches will see temperatures in the mid 60s to around 70 degrees, though some Orange County coastal areas could reach 76 degrees.
Meanwhile, daytime highs for the valleys and Inland Empire will reach into the low 80s, with the warmest areas expected to reach 84 degrees. Coachella Valley will see temperatures in the 90s.
Looking ahead, weekend rain is in the forecast starting Friday through Saturday. We could get anywhere between a quarter to a full inch of rain, with the higher amounts of rainfall more likely for higher elevations. There's also a chance of thunderstorms that could produce heavy downpours. For anyone going to Coachella, it looks like rain is likely for Saturday.
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Ubefest is a celebration of all things Ube, the purple yam that's become beloved not just in the Filipino diaspora but across the country. The festival has also become a broader appreciation of Filipino cuisine, and one of the vendors, Emerson Baja, the owner of Long Beach Lumpia, came in to offer AirTalk host Austin Cross some of his tasty food.
Event details: Check out Ubefest at the Cerritos Center for performing arts on Saturday April 11, at 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday April 12, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Note: the festival is free.
Interview quote: “It’s finger-licking good over here!” Cross said after his first bite of the ube cheesecake turon lumpia.
Read on... to learn about some different of the different lumpias you could try at the event.
It’s been four years since James Oreste started Ubefest, a festival meant to highlight the purple yam that’s become beloved not just in the Filipino diaspora but across the country. In that time, the food festival has grown in the number of vendors and become a broader appreciation of Filipino cuisine.
This year's event is happening Saturday April 11 and Sunday April 12 in Cerritos. One of the festival’s vendors, Emerson Baja, owner of Long Beach Lumpia, has been involved with the event for years, and he came into the studio to talk to host Austin Cross.
Baja’s pop-up menu was inspired by a variety of things, with the traditional aspects of his menu coming from his family and other aspects by food he experimented with while attending Long Beach State. He became a probation officer after he graduated college, but his heart was always with food, specifically lumpia, which he served at a potluck.
“People were like ‘you’re in the wrong business,’” Baja said.
For the segment, Baja brought in a variety of lumpias: traditional Shanghai; pork chile verde; veggie pancit pizza; and ube cheesecake turon.
When Emerson mentioned the Shanghai lumpia being a homemade recipe, Cross added, “Home is delicious! You have a home like this?”
“It’s finger-licking good over here,” Cross said after his first bite of the ube cheesecake turon lumpia. He added: “It’s really special because it has an aftertaste of a very heartwarming pastry…feels very homey.”
