LOS ANGELES — The National Weather Service is warning of a “major and long lasting” heat wave that will keep much of California near or above 100 degrees through next week, with extreme heat warnings in effect from Friday morning through Thursday evening and forecasters saying the unusual stretch could last into mid-October.
“A major and long lasting heat wave will begin today and last through all of next week with dangerously hot temperatures,” the NWS Los Angeles office wrote in its Friday morning forecast discussion. Forecasters expect the warmest valleys around Los Angeles to hit 102 to 107 degrees, downtown Los Angeles to reach 99 to 103, and Lake Elsinore to reach 105 — 15 to 20 degrees above normal for early October, according to the New York Post and local outlets. Nights will offer little relief: lows are expected to stay mostly in the 70s from Saturday through Tuesday.
“This is one of the longer-duration ones that I’ve seen in my time at this office,” NWS meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld told the Los Angeles Times. Schoenfeld, who has worked at the Oxnard office since 2023, said the heat could last until the middle of the month. Officials linked the unusual stretch in part to a strong El Niño pattern and above-normal sea surface temperatures.
Extreme heat warnings cover the coast and valleys of Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Orange, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties from 10 a.m. Friday to 8 p.m. Thursday, with shorter heat advisories for the Central Coast, the San Joaquin Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area, where temperatures could reach the mid-90s to 103, according to the Desert Sun. A wind advisory is also in effect for parts of Southern California, with Santa Ana gusts of 35 to 45 mph expected to raise wildfire risk and possibly cause power outages.
Officials are urging Californians to take the heat seriously — particularly people without reliable air conditioning or access to water. “Drink water, and if possible, take water to those who are vulnerable,” the NWS warned, advising residents to wear lightweight clothing, limit strenuous activity to early morning or evening, check on elderly relatives and neighbors, and know where local cooling centers are. August was already the warmest on record in several California counties, including Los Angeles and San Diego, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.