It might be too early to set out the fall décor in Southern California as the region expects to welcome one more short heat wave starting Oct. 4.
Warmer temperatures are expected to arrive across the southern region Wednesday as the area’s first Santa Ana winds begin to sweep coastal sea breezes back into the sea and make way for a dome of hot air to settle into the southern part of the Golden State.
“The heating is really going to start up on Wednesday, when Santa Ana winds start kicking in,” Senior Meteorologist Alex Tardy with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in San Diego said in a weather update Monday.
A period of dry and above-average temperatures is expected to blanket the region from San Diego to Los Angeles, and inland in the desert communities around Palm Springs, Mr. Tardy said.
Dry air and low humidity are also forecast for the desert area, with humidity dropping to 10 to 20 percent in many cities, according to Mr. Tardy.
“It looks like these temperatures and dry air are going to last at least into Saturday before we see a change to cooler and more moist [conditions],” he said.
NOAA weather forecasters are expecting a five- to 10-degree warming each day, with heat peaking Thursday and Friday, according to NOAA’s Oxnard office.
Beachgoers cool off in the ocean at Seal Beach, Calif., during a heat wave on Sept. 6, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
Temperatures for Southern California coasts and inland areas will range from the 80s to 90 degrees. The valleys and deserts will be 85 to 100 degrees, with cooler temperatures along the Central Coast in the upper 70s to low 80s.
In and around Los Angeles County, forecasters are expecting temperatures to be five to 10 degrees higher than average for this time of year, reaching 10 to 15 degrees above averages in Los Angeles and Ventura counties Thursday and Friday, according to NOAA Meteorologist Rich Thompson in Oxnard.
“It will be warmest for the coast on Thursday and warmest in the valley on Friday,” Mr. Thompson told The Epoch Times.
Temperatures should reach the mid-80s to mid-90s along the coast of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and the mid to upper 90s in the valleys on Thursday, he added.
On Friday, the coast should cool slightly to the 80s or lower 90s, with the valley cities reaching the mid-90s to around 100 degrees, Mr. Thompson added.
San Francisco Bay Area residents should also see temperatures increase later in the week, peaking Thursday through Saturday, according to NOAA Meteorologist Dalton Behringer.
“By Thursday, most of the Bay Area will be in the mid- to upper-80s and low-90s,” Mr. Behringer told The Epoch Times. “And it really peaks Friday, when we’ll see more widespread upper-80s and low-90s, with Saturday getting just a bit cooler.”
The temperatures in the Bay Area will be 10 to 15 degrees above average for the first week of October, but it’s not unusual for the state to get this type of heat spike, Mr. Behringer said.
By the beginning of next week, though, temperatures across the state will again dip below average. The southern region of California might get some rain next week, but the Central Coast and Bay Area could only see some clouds and slight sprinkles, according to Mr. Behringer.
