LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The region will be bedeviled by one more day of torrid heat today, with Woodland Hills forecast to reach 100 degrees, before the second heat wave of 2020 dissipates.
As of early this morning, today's conditions promised to be a replay of Wednesday's.
The National Weather Service says a record high for a May 6 was set Wednesday at LAX, where the high of 86 broke the record of 84 set in 1953.
A heat advisory will be in effect until 9 p.m. today in the Los Angeles coastal zone -- including beach cities, metropolitan Los Angeles, Downtown L.A., and the Hollywood Hills; Beverly Hills; Long Beach; the Santa Mountains Recreational Area; the San Gabriel, San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys; Pomona. The advisory will be in effect in inland Orange County until 9 p.m. Friday.
Temperatures of between 85 and 90 degrees are expected near the coast and between 90 and 100 inland, with the valleys of Los Angeles and Ventura counties expected to be the hottest areas.
Forecasters urged residents to protect themselves.
“Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside,” urged a National Weather Service statement. “When possible, reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose-fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency.”
Los Angeles County opened eight cooling centers around the area Wednesday to give residents who need it a place to escape the heat wave.
The centers will be open from noon to 6 p.m. and “operate in compliance with physical distancing and other safety criteria” due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The county cooling centers are located at in East Los Angeles, Azusa, Florence-Firestone, Sylmar, South Whittier, Altadena, Sun Village, and Burbank. A list of cooling center locations is available at ready.lacounty.gov/heat, or by calling 211.
Several communities in L.A and Orange County will again climb into the 90s today but revert to the 80s Friday.
Off the coast, hazardous conditions will prevail, forecasters said, and a small craft advisory will be in effect until 3 a.m. Friday, serving to warn inexperienced sailors to stay off the water.
The NWS forecast sunny skies in L.A. County today and highs of 80 in Avalon; 85 on Mount Wilson; 87 in Long Beach; 89 at LAX; 94 in Saugus, Burbank, San Gabriel and Downtown L.A; 95 in Pasadena; 96 in Palmdale and Lancaster; and 100 in Woodland Hills. A cooling trend begins Friday, and by Sunday some communities now reaching the 90s will have reverted to the 70s.
Sunny skies were also forecast in Orange County today, along with highs of 75 in San Clemente and on Santiago Peak; 77 in Laguna Beach and Newport Beach; 82 on Ortega Highway at 2,600 feet; 86 at Fremont Canyon; 89 in Mission Viejo; 90 in Fullerton, Irvine and at Trabuco Canyon; 91 in Anaheim; and 92 in Yorba Linda. A cooling trend will begin Friday, and by Sunday some communities now slated to reach the 90s will be back in the 70s.
Photo: Getty Images