SoCal will bake this weekend as October heat wave continues

Temperatures across much of the Southern California are expected to be 10 to 15 degrees above normal for this time of year through at least Monday.

Heat on tap

That hotter-than-average heat is why the National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for inland mountain, valley and desert communities and a heat advisory for the mountains and high deserts until 8 p.m. on Monday. Temperatures this weekend are expected to be in the 80s and 90s on the coast and the high 90s and low 100s inland. That heat also increases fire risk and is causing ongoing fires to flare up.

Stay safe

Bottom line, wherever you are…it’s going to be warm, so be sure to hydrate, have a plan to stay cool, avoid strenuous activity if you can and never leave your kids or pets in the car. We’ve got guides on how to stay safe in the heat, and prep for power outages and fire.

Also, people who work outdoors and indoors have legal protections to stay safe in the heat:

• The rules require employers to offer water, more breaks, cool-down areas and other measures in workplaces where indoor temperatures reach 82 degrees. If temperatures hit 87 degrees, employers have to provide additional support to workers, such as air conditioning.
• For outdoor workers, the rules require employers to offer those protections when temperatures reach 80 degrees outside.
• All workers in California, regardless of legal status, have a right to a hazard-free work environment and a right to refuse hazardous work without retaliation from their employer.
  
  • File a confidential complaint with Cal/OSHA by phone or online

Cooling centers

It’s ideal to plan ahead for where you may go if it gets too hot at your home or outside.

In L.A., Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties, call 3-1-1 or call for a list of cooling centers. In the city of Los Angeles, you can also find a list of recreation centers, senior centers and libraries — all good choices for cooling off — online.

• Tip: Call the center in advance to make sure seating is available.
• Tip: If the center you want is at capacity, or non-operational, head to a local, air-conditioned library and cool off with a book about ice fishing in Antarctica.

You can get more details of cooling centers in Southern California:

• L.A. County
• City of L.A. (includes hydration centers)
• Orange County
• Riverside County
• San Bernardino County

Some context

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) released updated “climate normals” for the U.S. in 2020. Calculated every 30 years, the “normals” are a 30-year average temperature, or what’s considered a long-term average. NOAA’s National Weather Service uses those averages to decide whether a heat event is extreme or not.

What’s next

NOAA found the average warm temperatures across most of the U.S. are trending up as a result of human-caused climate change. For example, this July was California’s hottest on record. Learn more about how the climate crisis is changing the definition of extreme heat here.