A ‘dangerous’ heat wave warning has been issued for Southern California next week
The National Weather Service on Saturday issued a heat watch for Southern California for the next week, warning that temperatures could reach 100 degrees in the San Fernando Valley.
Typically, temperatures in Southern California hover in the 70s in March, but unusual summer-like heat will extend across much of the state and the Southwest for a few days. Highs will be 25 to 35 degrees above normal.
“All signs continue to point to an unusual, long-term, and record-breaking (in some cases) March heat wave that was initially concentrated across the US southwest but spread across a wider region next week,” wrote climate scientist Daniel Swain in X. “This has full summer heat potential in March.”
Downtown Los Angeles could hit 101 on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. Glendale could reach 104 degrees and Santa Monica could hit 91 degrees.
The valleys will see the highest temperatures from Tuesday to Friday, while the mountains and desert areas will be the warmest from Wednesday to Friday.
“Extremely hot conditions” are a particular problem for babies and young children, as well as adults, according to the National Weather Service.
The agency advised to stay out of the sun and stay in a well-ventilated room and drink plenty of fluids. Exercise and strenuous activities should be done in the morning and evening.
An extreme heat watch is issued when “conditions favor an extreme heat event but its occurrence and timing are not yet certain.”
The National Weather Service has also issued a heat advisory for Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Such an advisory is issued for “dangerous heat conditions that are not expected to reach warning criteria.” Beverly Hills is forecast to be 90 degrees on Monday, while downtown LA could hit 93 degrees.
The March temperature record for downtown Los Angeles was set in 1879 at 99 degrees.
“We’re looking at a nearly 150-year record that could be dethroned here,” said Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “Basically everything we’re looking at suggests much warmer temperatures.”
A common concern during hot, dry conditions is the possibility of small grass fires, according to the weather service. Fortunately, large sources of fuel such as dense vegetation remain wet due to heavy winter rains, and winds are forecast to be relatively light, conditions that together reduce the risk of fast-spreading wildfires.
But without much rain in the forecast for the rest of this month, the hot weather is likely to accelerate the oil drying up, Lewis said.
“It doesn’t look like there’s rain on the horizon, so that could be a long-term concern,” he said.
The unseasonably warm weather prompted LA Mayor Karen Bass this week to urge Angelenos to visit the city’s Parks and Recreation centers and local library branches to stay cool. For locations and hours of operation, visit laparks.org/reccenter and lapl.org/branches.
Times staff writers Clara Harter and Hannah Fry contributed to this report.
