Heat wave: Temperatures are dropping, but only slightly

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Randy Thomas of Vacaville, Calif., tries to fry an egg on the salt flats in Death Valley’s Badwater Basin. He drove there to experience the heat. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

2/21

Sarah Mason, left, and Lance Lindsey, both from Los Angeles, and Joey Teixeira of Honolulu have their picture taken with of a thermometer -- showing 132 degrees -- at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center in Death Valley. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

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Randy Thomas, left, of Vacaville, Calif., helps Andreas Kinnen from Germany hold up a thermometer in Death Valley’s Badwater Basin. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

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Conchi Almanza takes a photo of Mar Rodriguez in front of a digital thermometer at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center in Death Valley. The two tourists from Spain were likely to experience history Sunday with record temperatures forecast. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

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Rafael Artsrunyan, 2, splashes in the William Mulholland Memorial Fountain in Los Feliz. (Bret Hartman / For The Times)

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During the heat wave, children swim at the LA84 Foundation/John C. Argue Swim Stadium pool in Los Angeles’ Exposition Park neighborhood. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Children cool off in the swimming pool in the Exposition Park neighborhood. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Leslie, Ernesto and Sharai Najera -- 7, 6 and 7, respectively -- shade themselves as they walk along Broadway in Los Angeles’ Chinatown. (Susannah Kay / Los Angeles Times)

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David Murillio, 8, left, and Joshua Rodriguez, 9, cool off in a two-story inflatable pool in Boyle Heights. The boys were on their way to Pecan Recreation Center when they saw that their neighbors had rented the pool and jumped in. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Pedestrians with cold drinks stroll past a window display of bathing suits at the Looksy Couture Boutique in Palm Springs. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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A decorative sun in the window of the Cocky Cactus gift shop hints at the heat on the streets of Palm Springs. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Palm Springs resident Mike Cruz cools off with a Coke in the air-conditioned Raspados Colima ice cream shop along Highway 111 in Cathedral City, where temperatures hovered around 110 degrees Friday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Leonardo Zenaidi, 5, plays in the fountain at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles as temperatures continue to climb Friday. (Sydney Stewart / Los Angeles Times)

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Gabby Iglesias plays with her 4-month-old daughter McKayla at Grand Park¿s Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A marine layer still hovers over Zuma Beach in Malibu on Thursday afternoon. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Mercedes Lopez, 2, relaxes in the shady part of the wading area in Grand Park. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Next to Echo Park Lake, Mishelle Parry reads in the shade as an ice cream vendor walks by. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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A woman walks dogs past a fireworks stand in Santa Ana. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A man walks along the sand in Long Beach on Thursday morning as sun breaks through the marine layer. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Rosie Melendez, 9, strikes a pose as she jumps into a small pool in Boyle Heights. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

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Greg Nunez helps Raiders Youth Cheer, a civic youth group, set up a fireworks stand in Ventura County. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

By Matt Stevens

July 1, 2013 7:23 AM PT

The worst of a heat wave that broiled the Western U.S. may have passed, but forecasters say it will remain hot across the region for the next several days.

Temperatures will drop a few degrees Monday, causing the National Weather Service to remove excessive heat warnings from the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys. But the warnings remain in effect for the Santa Clarita Valley, L.A. mountains and the Antelope Valley.

“It’s going to be hot, but just not as hot,” said NWS meteorologist Rich Thompson.

Weather specialists say Sunday was likely the peak of the heat wave and record temperatures are not expected in the coming days.

The NWS’ mercury thermometer recorded a peak of 128 degrees in Death Valley on Sunday, just six degrees short of the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth.

Throughout Southern California, temperatures Sunday broke decades-old records. Lancaster reached an all-time high of 115 degrees, breaking a 1950 record of 110.

The heat reached into the three digits across the region, with Woodland Hills and Riverside reaching 105.

Downtown L.A. topped out at 94 degrees. In Pasadena, six runners who braved a half-marathon were hospitalized for heat-related conditions.

The heat was of particular concern to firefighters because of record dry conditions that have already figured in several major brush fires. Fourth of July fireworks also went on sale Friday in some areas, adding another fire danger.

Since January, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has responded to about 2,900 fires, many more than in other years, department spokesman Daniel Berlant said. Current weather conditions are more typical of late August or early September, he said.

Downtown Los Angeles is expected to have a high of 87 Monday. Burbank, which recorded a high of 100 Sunday, will drop to 95. Coastal and valley areas will experience the most cooling, according to Thompson, while inland temperatures will remain well above normal.

“Saturday might be the coolest day of the next seven, and it will still be in the upper 80s to mid 90s in valleys,” he said. “We’re in summertime.”

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