It’s going to be a warm week in Southern California.
A system that started to heat up the region on Sunday is expected to stick around through the weekend and send temperatures soaring into the triple digits in many areas, according to the National Weather Service.
On Sunday, many valley communities across the Southland clocked in at 100-degree plus temperatures, including Ontario in San Bernardino County and Woodland Hills in Los Angeles County, where it hit 103. In Palm Springs, temperatures peaked at 117 degrees.
“That was the hottest temperature of the year by a good margin” for Palm Springs, said Sebastian Westerink, a National Weather Service meteorologist in San Diego.
Forecasters say thermometers could climb to similar highs again in the coming days.
“It’s going to be pretty warm all week,” said Mike Wofford, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard. “It’s well above normal.”
The weather service warned that the temperatures could cause health issues like heat exhaustion and heat stroke, especially for at-risk populations, and urged people to stay hydrated and avoid strenuous activity during the hottest part of the day.
Monday was forecast to again hit 117 degrees in Palm Springs, while the Inland Empire and some L.A. County valleys will see highs in the 90s or near 100 degrees, forecasters said.
Wednesday could again see another bump in temperatures, Wofford said, before slight cooling into the weekend.
The hot and dry weather will also bring “elevated fire conditions” away from the coast through Wednesday, particularly for the Antelope Valley, along the Interstate 5 corridor in north L.A. County and in some mountainous areas, said Robbie Munroe, a weather service meteorologist in Oxnard.
“It’s very dry and pretty hot out there, so we definitely have some concerns that any new fire starts could have a pretty fast growth,” Munroe said. He said some areas in and around the San Gabriel Mountains could see some gusty winds over the next few days, which can exacerbate fire concerns — though they haven’t yet risen to the concern for a red flag warning and aren’t the Santa Ana wind pattern.
“We’ll be keeping an eye out,” Munroe said. “The vegetation is dry out there.”
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