Wednesday’s heat will be full of woe for Southern California
Southern Californians braced for the worst day of the region’s latest heat wave, with record-breaking temperatures and the ongoing severe fire threat expected to peak Wednesday, July 25 in a brutal run of heat this month that has contributed to at least seven deaths in two counties.
As usual, the interior of Southern California is expected to suffer the heat’s harshest effects: Wednesday’s high-temperature forecast includes up to 111 for the San Fernando Valley and 107 for the San Gabriel and Santa Clarita valleys; up to 111 for Riverside and San Bernardino county valleys, and a possible 119 degrees for the San Gorgonio Pass.
Local governments issued heat advisories and reminded residents about local cooling centers as the National Weather Service put out excessive heat warnings for large swaths of Southern California.
A red flag fire warning was issued for Santa Barbara County’s south coast and mountains. Humidity low levels for interior areas will be between 10 and 25 percent Wednesday, the NWS said.
Officials advised residents who are vulnerable and don’t have air conditioning to seek places that do, or go to designated cooling centers, and also stay sensibly hydrated, wear loose-fitting clothing and avoid the weather, if possible.
Related: How to cool down your hot house the old-fashioned way
“While this intense heat is not especially unusual, the extreme heat could cause some people to be caught off guard, especially those most susceptible to heat illness,” San Bernardino County Health Officer Dr. Maxwell Ohikhuare said in a statement.
“Those most vulnerable are the elderly, those who work or exercise outdoors, infants and children, the homeless or poor, and people with chronic medical conditions,” he said.
Riverside County public health officials have said there have been six heat-related deaths in the county since July 7, and Orange County reported at least one death in the past few weeks due to heatstroke.
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The most recently reported deaths for Riverside County were an 84-year-old man from Indio with underlying health issues who died July 16 and a 91-year-old woman in Riverside who died July 17. Her death certificate noted there was “prolonged exposure to elevated environmental temperatures” in a residence without cooling.
Neither Los Angeles nor San Bernardino county officials had recorded any heat-related deaths.
The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner was looking into the death of U.S. Postal Service worker Peggy Frank, found dead in her mail truck in Woodlands Hills the afternoon of July 6, when temperatures had soared to 117 degrees in the suburban Los Angeles neighborhood.
Coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter said the cause of death has been deferred pending additional tests, and that Frank, 63, had “some other medical issues” which he declined to specify.
The latest heat wave that started Monday was spurred by the usual culprit during the summer in Southern California — a high-pressure system in the southwestern desert that pushes hot temperatures toward the coast, said National Weather Service hydrologist Jayme Laber.
“It’s what happens during the summer — we had a heat wave in early July, and now one toward the end of July, and I am sure we will have another in August,” he said in a phone interview Tuesday.
The system was over eastern Arizona on Tuesday, but was expected directly over Southern California on Wednesday, bringing the hottest temperatures.
One difference between this heat wave and the one in early July is that there are some moderating winds from the ocean toward the mountains, the NWS’s San Diego office said.
“The onshore flow will mean that instead of Chino reaching 120, they will reach more like 110 in this heat wave, most likely on Wednesday,” the forecast said
The current system is expected to move out by the weekend, bringing relatively cooler temperatures.
One relief is that the current heat wave does not have the Santa Ana winds that arrive in September and October and increase the fire danger even more, Laber said.
Temperature records are expected to be broken Wednesday for Los Angeles near the airport, plus Burbank, Woodland Hills, Riverside and Palm Springs, while Long Beach, Lancaster and Palmdale may come close to earlier marks.
Beaches will be cooler, but a high surf advisory will remain in effect until 9 p.m. Wednesday with 4-to-7-foot waves with maximum sets up to 8 feet for some beaches.
Staying Cool
Advice from health officials across the region for the current heat wave:
- Stay hydrated, but avoid sweetened drinks, caffeine, and alcohol.
- Stay inside in an air-conditioned building.
- Older adults and people with chronic medical conditions who don’t have air-conditioning should make their way during peak heat hours to cooling centers. Those can include designated spaces, as well as shopping malls, parks and libraries.
- Don’t rely on a fan, which only moves air, as a sole cooling device.
- Athletes and outdoor workers should take frequent rests.
- Wear light, loose-fitting clothing.
Cooling center contacts:
Los Angeles County: https://www.lacounty .go v/heat
Orange County: www.211oc.org/resource-centers/extreme-heat-cooling-centers.html
Riverside County: www.rivcocob.org/cooling-centers/
San Bernardino County: 211sb.org/cool-places-to-go
Across communities, people can dial 211 for toll-free information about cooling centers.
Alma Fausto and Brenda Gazzar of the Southern California News Group contributed to this story