Red Flag Warnings were posted for the mountains and foothills of Los Angeles County today, while Orange County remained under excessive heat warnings.
The Red Flag Warning status was issued by the National Weather Service at midmorning for the rugged terrain north and west of Los Angeles, including Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, through 6 a.m. Sunday.
After that time, the area will revert to the lesser Fire Weather Watch status already in effect across all of Southern California.
Temperatures nearing record levels, low moisture levels in the air and increasing atmospheric instability triggered the Red Flags and the warning of a prolonged heat wave.
Woodland Hills was expected to be the hottest spot in Los Angeles County today, with the high forecast at 106, one degree warmer than Saugus.
Temperatures were also expected to peg 100 or hotter in the San Gabriel, San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, as well as the Antelope Valley.
The high was expected to climb to 94 in Long Beach and 92 in downtown Los Angeles, according to the National Weather Service.
“Monday will be the hottest day of the cycle so far, and humidity levels will rise as well,” National Weather Service forecaster Rich Thompson told City News Service. “We probably won’t see much relief in the heat or humidity until Wednesday, and not much even then.”
There are light winds predicted for the next few days, but that raises the possibility of “large plume-dominated fire growth over the local mountains and adjacent foothills today if fire ignition occurs,” the NWS said.
“Poor humidity recoveries and warm temperatures at night will add to the fire danger,” the NWS meteorologists warned.
Mountain and coastal winds were predicted to blow from the southwest at 5-15 miles per hour and gust up to 20 mph in late afternoon and evening hours, according to the forecast. Humidity levels were forecast to drop to 8-15 percent.
High temperatures were predicted to bre 105 in foothills, and only a few degrees cooler in higher elevations.
Lows were expected to stay above 80 amid very dry air.
No relief from coastal moisture was expected through midweek, when slight cooling will arrive along with a shot of monsoonal flow from Arizona and Sonora, accompanied by an increased chance of thunderstorms in eastern mountains.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health warned “extreme heat such as this is not just an inconvenience, it can be dangerous and even deadly.” Dr. Jeffery Gunzenhauser, Los Angeles County’s interim health officer, said “we can protect ourselves, our families and our neighbors if we take steps to remain cool and hydrated.”
