It’s finally expected to cool down in Southern California this weekend after a scorching heat wave this week broke temperature records across the region.
Temperatures are expected to drop on Saturday into the upper 70s and low 80s along the coast and the low 90s inland and in the valleys, according to the National Weather Service.
On Thursday, it was 102 degrees in Woodland Hills, surpassing the 96-degree record high temperature for Mar. 19 set in 1997, according to the weather service. It was 93 degrees in Lancaster Thursday, surpassing the 87-degree record set in 2004. Records were also broken in Palmdale, Long Beach Airport, UCLA, Camarillo, Oxnard, Santa Maria and Paso Robles.
But looking forward, temperatures are expected to cool down a few more degrees on Sunday and warm up a bit Monday into next week, according to the weather service.
Temperatures are forecast to be in the mid-80s along the coast and low to mid-90s everywhere else most of next week.
“We broke so many records,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Lewis. “It’s not normal for this kind of year to have this kind of heat, where it’s 20 to 30 degrees above normal. It’ll remain hot next week too.”
Heat advisories are expected to expire by Friday night but there’s a chance of more advisories next week.
Friday is the last day of the significant heat wave, with temperatures in the 90s and low triple digits in the inland valley areas, according to Lewis. It‘s expected to be in the mid-70s and in the 80s along the coast on Friday.
Heat exhaustion and dehydration could result from the heat wave, especially during this time of year, when the temperatures are normally around 70 degrees, according to Lewis.
“We do see these temperatures in the summertime,” Lewis said. “It catches people and our bodies off guard. The coastal areas don’t have AC so that could also cause some issues there. Strenuous activities during the heat can cause some of those issues as well.”
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