The National Weather Service on Saturday issued an extreme heat watch in Southern California next week, warning that temperatures could top 100 degrees in the San Fernando Valley.
Typically, temperatures in Southern California hover around the 70s in March, but an unusual summer-like heat will extend over most of the state and the Southwest for several days. Highs will be 25 to 35 degrees above normal.
“All signs continue to point to an exceptional, long-duration, and record-breaking to (in some cases) record-shattering March heatwave initially centered across U.S. Southwest but expanding to much broader region next week,” wrote weather scientist Daniel Swain on X. “This is effectively a full-on summer heatwave in March.”
Downtown Los Angeles could hit 101 on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. Glendale may reach 104 degrees and Santa Monica could hit 91 degrees.
The valleys will see the highest temperatures from Tuesday to Friday, while the mountains and desert areas will become warmest from Wednesday to Friday.
The “dangerously hot conditions” are a particular issue for babies and young children, as well as elderly people, according to the National Weather Service.
The agency advised staying out of the sun and remaining in an air-conditioned room and drinking plenty of fluids. Exercise and demanding activities should be done in the early morning and evening.
An extreme heat watch is issued when “conditions are favorable for an extreme heat event but its occurrence and timing is still uncertain.”
The National Weather Service also issued a heat advisory on Saturday for a period on Monday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Such an advisory is issued for “dangerous heat conditions that are not expected to reach warning criteria.” Beverly Hills is forecast to be 90 degrees on Monday, while downtown L.A. could hit 93 degrees.
The March temperature record in downtown Los Angeles was set in 1879 at a scorching 99 degrees.
“We’re looking at an almost 150-year-old record potentially being dethroned here,” said Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “Basically everything we’re looking at is suggesting extremely hot temperatures.”
A general concern during the hot, dry conditions is the potential for small grass fires, according to the weather service. Fortunately, larger fuel sources like dense vegetation remain moist from heavy winter rains, and winds are predicted to be relatively light, conditions that together limit the danger of fast-spreading wildfires.
But without significant rain in the forecast for the rest of the month, the hot weather is likely to accelerate fuels drying out, Lewis said.
“It doesn’t look like there’s any rain on the horizon, so that could certainly be, for the long term, somewhat of a concern for fire season,” he said.
The uncharacteristically warm weather prompted L.A. Mayor Karen Bass this week to urge Angelenos to visit the city’s Recreation and Parks facilities and local library branches to stay cool. For locations and hours of operation, visit laparks.org/reccenter and lapl.org/branches.
Times staff writers Clara Harter and Hannah Fry contributed to this report.
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