Long-term watches and warnings have been issued across most of Southern California in anticipation of the extreme heat and fire danger set to hit the region on Wednesday.
“This is a nasty forecast for a number of reasons,” KTLA Meteorologist Henry DiCarlo said Tuesday morning. “For one, it’s going to be hot for a number of days. It’s also going to be a little bit on the humid side, so it’s going to feel uncomfortable, and now we’re going to throw in a chance of thunderstorms, not just for the mountains and deserts but some of our valleys as well.”
Many areas are likely to see near-record temperatures at one point during this week’s heat wave, which will continue through at least Saturday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
“We have an extreme heat watch that pretty much covers all of Southern California. We do exclude the coastal areas,” Henry said.
The majority of the extreme heat watches will remain in place until Saturday evening, with temperatures ranging between 95 and 110 degrees.
Extreme heat warnings are also in place until Saturday evening for parts of Southern California, including Twentynine Palms and Barstow.
The NWS is forecasting a chance of thunderstorms during the afternoon hours Friday through Sunday, which also increases the chances for fire activity.
“We have fire concerns around parts of Santa Barbara, parts of Ventura County … and a fire weather warning until 9 p.m. on Saturday,” Henry said. “Listen, across the board, we should anticipate extreme fire concerns.”
The heat wave is expected to peak over the weekend with temperatures beginning to come down on Monday, but still remaining above average.