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Southern California is in the midst of a massive heat wave, with temperatures threatening to break records in parts of the desert and reaching the triple digits elsewhere in L.A. County.
Eric Boldt, a spokesperson for the National Weather Service, said the cause is a high pressure dome that recently brought extreme temperatures to the Pacific Northwest.
“This is our turn,” he said. “We have another large, high pressure system that's settling in over Nevada and California ... and that's the source of our heat.”
Some experts predicted that Death Valley would beat its record high of 134 degrees on Sunday, and temperatures in other inland areas, including the Antelope Valley, set new record highs of 112 and 114 degrees on Saturday.
Boldt said temperatures will likely begin to drop Monday, and continue cooling throughout the week.
“We should see temperatures drop a whole four degrees, maybe five [on Monday],” he said. “So it's going to be a slow process, but we are going to get cooler.”
However, the heat combined with dry conditions could set the stage for severe fire danger.
“The winds are a little gusty over in the Antelope Valley today, so some of that heat and some winds could really be a problem,” said Boldt. “It's very dry … so any fire start is critical at this point.”
Meanwhile, the state’s power grid is holding steady. Officials issued an alert asking residents to conserve energy on Friday and Saturday; they did not issue a notice on Sunday.
