LOS ANGELES — Southern California is gearing up for a third straight day of record-breaking temperatures as an unusually long and strong March heat wave pushes the mercury up to 35 degrees above normal.
L.A. and Ventura counties broke more than a dozen daily temperature records Tuesday when Woodland Hills reached 101 degrees, Burbank hit 99 degrees, Long Beach notched 99 degrees and downtown L.A. topped out at 98 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
It was 97 degrees in Camarillo on Tuesday, surpassing the daily temperature record by a whopping 11 degrees and the all-time March record by 3 degrees.
An extreme heat warning remains in place for most inland areas, and a heat advisory for coastal regions, through Friday, with officials urging people to be on guard for signs of heat-related illness.
Orange County, San Diego County and the Inland Empire broke 13 records and tied a fourteenth on Tuesday, according to weather service meteorologist Paul Steward. Anaheim notably hit 100 degrees, surpassing the 90-degree record set in 2010, while Palm Springs made it all the way to a scorching 103 degrees.
This weather event is currently on track to be the hottest March heat wave on record, said weather service meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld. Given that there is no significant change in the heat forecast for the rest of the workweek, forecasters predict many more daily temperature records will fall.
Temperatures started soaring Thursday and Friday, and though they dipped over the weekend, the heat wave dialed back up on Monday.
“This is a pretty unprecedented heat wave because of the duration of it,” Steward said. “It looks like we’ll continue with warm temperatures, possibly even into early next week.”
There is about a 50% chance that Palm Springs will hit 110 degrees on Thursday or Friday, a benchmark normally reached in June, said Steward. The current record for the earliest 110-degree day of the year was set on April 7, 1989.
“If we reach 110 in Palm Springs later this week, we’ll break this record by several weeks,” Steward said. “That’s just an example of how intense this heat is for this time of year.”
L.A. County residents without access to air conditioning are encouraged to seek relief at a county pool, splash pad or cooling center near them.
“Heat causes more deaths in the U.S. annually than floods, storms, and lightning combined,” said Muntu Davis, L.A. County health officer, in a statement. If you or someone around you experiences symptoms of heat stroke or heat exhaustion, such as dizziness, nausea, rapid heartbeat, confusion, or passing out, seek medical help immediately.”
A Times analysis in 2024 showed that heat had caused or contributed to the deaths of more than 21,500 Americans since 1999.
Public health officials are also advising people planning on cooling down in the ocean to be aware of elevated bacteria levels at certain beaches.
This includes inner Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro, near the Wilshire Boulevard storm drain at Santa Monica Beach, near Topsail Street extension in Venice, Mother’s Beach in Marina del Rey, near the Santa Monica Pier, near the lagoon at Topanga Canyon Beach, near Malibu Lagoon at Surfrider Beach, near Escondido Creek at Escondido State Beach, near the Marie Canyon storm drain at Puerco Beach and near Santa Monica Canyon Creek at Will Rogers State Beach.
Moderate relief is in sight this weekend, when forecasters predict the powerful high pressure system will start to flatten out, bringing a gradual dip in temperatures.
There is a chance that heat warnings will be extended in inland areas of the Southland on Saturday; however, temperatures will start dropping near the coast, according to the weather service. Coastal areas could see marine layer low clouds return as early as Friday night and thicken on Saturday night.
By Sunday, the weather is expected to be noticeably cooler across the region. Nonetheless, temperatures are expected to remain five to 15 degrees above normal into next week.
