Third day of heat wave to bring more record-breaking temperatures

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Mountain biker Guillermo Salazar of Reseda wipes sweat from his forehead while taking a break from riding amid temperatures in the 90s at San Vicente Mountain Park in Los Angeles.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A surfer wipes out at the Wedge in Newport Beach.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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As beachgoers watch the waves at the Wedge in Newport Beach, a boy executes a back flip off the sand berm.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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A windsurfer catches a wave at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro, where temperatures reached into the 80s.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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A woman walks past the fountain at Exposition Park, where temperatures reached into the 90s on Tuesday.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Lisa Rotunno shares water with her horse, Lexi, during a daily walk in their Chatsworth neighborhood. Normally, she would be riding, but decided it was too. hot

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

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Two women stroll through Marina Bay during the heat wave that is scheduled to last through Thursday.

(Maria Alejandra Cardona / Los Angeles Times)

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Isabel Gonzalez, 11, of Los Angeles, participates in Junior Lifeguard training at Celes King III Swimming Pool in Los Angeles. The eight-week summer program offered through the city of Los Angles allows youths 10-17 to improve their swimming skills and learn basic water rescue, first aid and snorkeling techniques.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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Instructor Devin Mora, right, keeps an eye on students during Junior Lifeguard training at Celes King III Swimming Pool in Los Angeles.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

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Summer crowds converge on Newport Beach, where temperatures reached into the 80s. Hot and dry weather is expected to peak in Southern California on Wednesday, with the mercury topping triple digits in many inland areas.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Beachgoers are reflected in the mirrored windows of a lifeguard station in Newport Beach.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Mountain biker Guillermo Salazar, of Reseda, wipes sweat from his forehead while taking a break from riding amid temperatures in the 90’s at San Vicente Mountain Park in Los Angeles Tuesday, July 24.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A child rides the surf aboard an inflatable flamingo at Newport Beach.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Shadows are cast as the sun begins to set and children cool off at Sunset Beach. An excessive heat warning for the Los Angeles area has been issued as Southern California faces its second major heat wave this summer.

(Frederic J. Brown / AFP/Getty Images)

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Children play beside a lifeguard tower as sunset approaches at Sunset Beach.

(Frederic J. Brown / AFP/Getty Images)

By Joseph Serna, Laura Newberry

July 25, 2018 12:15 PM PT

This is it — the worst of the heat wave.

Broiling summer temperatures are expected to peak across Southern California on Wednesday, as meteorologists warned of potential heat records from the Westside to the high desert.

Those areas include UCLA, where a predicted high of 96 degrees would beat the 1943 record of 91; Burbank, where a forecast of 103 degrees would beat the record of 101; and Palmdale, where the forecast of 110 degrees would beat a 1975 record of 109.

Downtown Los Angeles could hit a sizzling 97 degrees, but that won’t best a record of 109, which was set in 1891, forecasters said.

The blistering weather comes courtesy of a so-called “heat dome” that settled over the desert Southwest this week and has shifted gradually toward Southern California. While the coasts have been relatively cooler than inland areas, humid conditions have helped to equalize the misery.

Mar Vista resident Dewey Hampton said he’d experienced worse heat in his life, but conditions along the coast were still uncomfortable.

“I spent three years in Vietnam. It was 120 in the shade,” the 69-year-old said as he adjusted the brim of his straw hat. “What’s different about this, here in California, is that it wasn’t like this back in the day. It was warm, but there wasn’t the humidity.”

National Weather Service meteorologist Keily Delerme said that the current humidity would make 90 degrees feel more like 93 or 95 degrees.

Venice Beach parking attendant Osvaldo Acosta said it was tough to work outside all day in this kind of heat. The 43-year-old South Los Angeles resident said he has to remember to stay hydrated.

“We get so much more tired when it’s hot like this,” Acosta said. “And we have to deal with irritable people in their cars, honking their horns.”

The heat hadn’t made everyone miserable on Wednesday, though.

“This is not a heat wave at all,” boasted Kristen D’Amato. The 43-year-old said she recently moved to Santa Monica from Asheville, N.C.

“It feels refreshing,” D’Amato said. “All night we were able to sleep with the windows open, and it was nice and cool. It would have to hit 100 for me to feel it, and then I would just jump in the ocean.”

Not surprisingly, the heat is the worst in the desert.

The notoriously sweltering towns of Thermal, Palm Springs and Borrego all broke heat records Tuesday with temperatures reaching 122, 121 and 118 degrees, respectively. They’ll reach similar temperatures Wednesday before seeing a slight dip Thursday.

By the weekend, the marine layer should begin to return and bring an even bigger drop in the heat, forecasters said.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.