Another day of high heat is in store for Southern California today, prompting forecasters to warn of a risk of heat-related illnesses, particularly threatening the homeless, infants, the elderly and people who work outdoors.
A heat advisory, denoting an expectation of hot temperatures, will go into effect at 10 a.m. in the San Gabriel Mountains and expire at 9 p.m. Thursday.
The weather service also said gusty onshore winds would blow through mountain passes in the afternoon and evening today and Thursday. Humidity levels, meanwhile, will range from single digits to the mid-teens inland, which, along with hot temperatures and very dry vegetation, creates an elevated fire danger, forecasters said.
A meteorologist at the Oxnard office of the National Weather Service said earlier this week that the current period of high heat would not last long enough to be described as a heat wave, but other meteorologists had a different take, writing on the NWS website today about the “heat wave peaking Wednesday into Thursday.”
The NWS advised area residents to drink plenty of water, stay out of the midday sun, check on friends and neighbors, particularly the elderly, provide shade and water to livestock and pets, never leave people or pets in cars parked in the heat. and guard against sparking fires.
Avoid using weed whackers near dry brush, don't drive through tall grass, make sure trailers are not dragging chains, and never toss cigarette butts out of vehicles.
The NWS forecast a mixture of sunny and partly cloudy skies in L.A. County today, along with highs of 76 degrees at LAX; 79 in Avalon; 87 on Mount Wilson; 88 in Downtown L.A.; 89 in Long Beach; 95 in San Gabriel; 97 in Burbank; 98 in Pasadena; 101 in Saugus; 103 in Woodland Hills; and 105 in Palmdale and Lancaster.
Sunny skies were forecast in Orange County, along with highs of 74 in San Clemente; 75 in Newport Beach; 76 in Laguna Beach; 83 on Santiago Peak; 90 in Irvine and on Ortega Highway at 2,600 feet; 91 in Fullerton; 93 in Anaheim Yorba Linda and Mission Viejo; and 94 in Fremont Canyon and Trabuco Canyon.
Temperatures will decline minimally Thursday in both counties and slightly more robustly on Friday.
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