Temperatures soared above 100 degrees Fahrenheit along the Southern California coast early Friday, creating unbearable conditions past midnight, as officials warned that the excessive heat would last through the weekend.
The nighttime heat, ranging from the upper 80s to the 100s, stretched across the coasts of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, according to the National Weather Service.
Such high temperatures happen in the area at that time of night about once a year, Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Oxnard, Calif., said in a phone interview.
“We’re not seeing a ton of release at night,” he said, adding that temperatures remained high elsewhere in the region early Friday, hovering in the high 70s and lower 80s in more populated areas. “That’s absolutely concerning.”
Excessive heat warnings and heat advisories were in effect in the region and other parts of the West early Friday. More than ” rel=”noopener noreferrer” target=”_blank”>31 million people were under excessive heat warnings in parts of Arizona, California, Nevada and Oregon, according to the National Weather Service.
The nighttime heat followed a day of record highs during a weekslong heat wave. Burbank Airport reached 114 degrees on Thursday, which tied with the record made once in July 2018 and twice in September 2020, the National Weather Service said.
Phoenix marked its 100th consecutive day of temperatures of at least 100 degrees on Wednesday. In Los Angeles, temperatures could reach 117 degrees on Friday.
Mr. Lewis said that the persistence of heat at night near Santa Barbara was caused by the lack of a sea breeze, winds from the west that normally bring cooler ocean air inland, acting as a natural air-conditioner. Because of a high pressure system over the land, dry, hot gusts from inland have instead blown toward the sea.
That weather phenomenon has been called “sundowner” winds in the Santa Barbara County area, named after the time of day when they occur.
The fact that the heat remained at night was particularly dangerous for people without air conditioning, Mr. Lewis said, urging people to drink more water than they think they should and keep an ice pack on their neck to prevent overheating.
“Right now, it’s nighttime,” he said, “so we can’t really say: ‘Stay out of the sun.’”
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