The Heat Is On -- and It Is Staying On

The heat that’s blanketed the Southland is expected to continue into next week, with the potential for thunderstorms in the mountain and desert areas, forecasters said Wednesday.

Although temperatures were slightly above normal throughout the region, no records were broken in Los Angeles County on Wednesday -- a date that hasn’t seen rain downtown since 1877, said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist at the National Weather Service. Downtown hit its high of 93 degrees about 10 a.m., five degrees below the 1980 record.

But a record was set in Orange County at Fullerton Municipal Airport, where the 100-degree reading beat one of 99 in 1976, said Noel Isla of the National Weather Service.

Wednesday’s highs included 105 degrees at Woodland Hills’ Pierce College and in Riverside, 104 in Chatsworth and Chino, 100 in Lancaster and Whittier, and 99 in Burbank and Anaheim, according to the National Weather Service. Hot as it was at Pierce College, the temperature was still far below the record of 112 for the date, set in 1976.

Coastal areas remained in the 70s for most of the day. Los Angeles International Airport hit 80 degrees.

In the late afternoon, a thunderstorm in the Antelope Valley dropped pea-sized hail and about 0.15 inches of rain on Pearblossom and Palmdale, Seto said. A lot of cloud-to-ground lightning was also sighted.

Thunderstorms were predicted for Los Angeles County mountains and deserts through late next week, he said.

If anything, Wednesday’s heat signaled a return to normal summer temperatures, Seto said, after a cool April and May.

He attributed recent humidity to monsoonal moisture coming from the southeast. High pressure centered over the Four Corners area brought the moisture, Seto said, but combined with Southland heat, it resulted in higher relative humidity instead of rain. As the pressure moves farther east, the relative humidity has gone back down to 25%, closer to normal levels.

The valleys were expected to have highs ranging from the 80s to 100 degrees into next week, while coastal areas should remain in the 70s.

Strong, gusty winds were also anticipated in various parts of Santa Barbara County over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.