New Heat Wave Hits Southern California Among the Hottest Days of the Year

New Heat Wave Hits Southern California Among the Hottest Days of the Year
Kanoa Igarashi surfs for the crowd against Griffin Colapinto during the men's final heat at the Vans US Open of Surfing on August 5, 2018 in Huntington Beach, California. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images)
8/6/2018
Updated:
8/6/2018

The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning and a red flag wildfire warning for areas of Southern California from Monday (Aug. 6) afternoon through Tuesday (Aug. 7) evening.

High temperatures, high winds, and low humidity will raise the possibility of wildfires in the valleys and mountains. Triple-digit temperature and winds of over 30 miles per hour are expected in the Santa Clarita Valley and San Gabriel Mountains, according to NWS.

The Santa Clarita, San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys will experience “excessive heat” starting from 10 a.m. Monday until 8 p.m. Tuesday, which sparks concerns for power shortages as well as heat-related diseases.

NWS Meteorologist Kathy Hoxsie said the last 10 days of July and the first 10 days of August normally rank among the hottest of the year, according to City News Service. Also, high air pressure normally shifts its position back and forth over Arizona and California during the summer. Sometimes the high pressure expands and sit over both the two areas, said Hoxsie, but this week the pressure will stay in California.

Last week, record-breaking high temperatures were observed at the sea surface in San Diego. 78.6 degrees was read at San Diego’s Scripps Pier on Aug. 1, 78.8 degrees on Aug. 3, and 79.4 degrees on Aug. 5, which is higher than the record set 102 years ago, according to a report from Fox 5.
In addition, Death Valley National Park reported that it just experienced its hottest month on record with an average temperature of 108.1 degrees during July. During the day, highs often reached 120 degrees or higher, with a high in the valley of 127 degrees four days in a row.

The heat wave is expected to gradually weaken after Tuesday.