Heat Records Fell Throughout Southland Tuesday; Cold Front Bringing Relief Wednesday

Strong Santa Ana winds brought record temperatures for Tuesday to downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles International Airport and Long Beach Airport on what is expected to be the last day of the region’s 12-day heat wave.

The temperature reached 90 at downtown Los Angeles, breaking the previous record of 88 set in 1977. The high at LAX was 88, breaking the previous record of 84 set in 1953.

The 89-degree high at Long Beach Airport broke the previous record of 85 set in 1977.

Tuesday’s other highs included 92 in San Gabriel and Woodland Hills, 91 in Chatsworth, Hawthorne, Northridge, Pasadena and Redondo Beach, 89 in Burbank and Van Nuys and at UCLA, 88 in Pomona and 87 at the Santa Monica Airport and in Torrance.

A cold front will cause temperatures to drop 15 to 20 degrees on average in the coastal and valley areas and bring rain to most of the area by Wednesday night, according to the National Weather Service.

Wednesday’s forecast highs include 73 in Pasadena, 72 in downtown Los Angeles, San Gabriel and Woodland Hills, 70 for Burbank and Los Angeles International Airport and 69 in Long Beach.

Sunny weather is expected to return on Friday, and a warming trend will begin Saturday, with temperature highs reverting to the 80s in some communities on Sunday. The normal high this time of the year is 68.

The impending precipitation will result from a storm expected to strike mostly north of the Southland, said NWS meteorologist Kathy Hoxsie.

Nonetheless, it may produce between a quarter-inch and a half-inch of rain in Southern California through Thursday, she said.

--City News Service