LOS ANGELES (AP) - Southern California faced more summer-like weather Wednesday as a spring heat wave headed toward its peak.
Heat advisories for a swath of the region were expected to be in effect until Thursday night, the National Weather Service said.
Temperatures hit the 80s and 90s in many areas, with downtown Los Angeles hitting 92 and parts of the San Fernando Valley hitting triple digits. Death Valley topped out at 110 and even some coastal areas approached 80 degrees, forecasters said.
High pressure centered over northern Baja California will continue to bring the heat through Thursday, with some areas as much as 20 degrees hotter than usual for the date, the weather service said.
Los Angeles County said eight cooling centers would operate for people who lack air-conditioning at home. The centers will comply with physical distancing measures required due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Smog regulators warned of likely poor air quality in many areas of the South Coast Air Basin and the Coachella Valley.
“Although Los Angeles saw one of its greatest stretches of clean air in early spring due to rainfall and reduced economic activity that came as a result of the COVID-19 stay-at-home measures, these changes were only temporary,” the South Coast Air Quality Management District said.
Much cooler conditions are expected by the weekend due to a large low-pressure system over the northeast Pacific.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.