Temperatures may skyrocket 20 degrees above normal in L.A.
By
Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Jan 14, 2021 12:53 PM EDT
|
Updated Jan 16, 2021 9:16 AM EDT
Despite the swell of the ocean being relatively small compared to the previous days, the King Tides still caused rather large waves to crash into Pacifica, California, on Jan. 12.
Southern California has been dealing with a terrible coronavirus surge to go along with a warm and dry start to the new year, and now people in that part of the country are in the midst of near summer-like warmth, which will pose multiple other dangers.
Much of the Southwest has been in the throes of an extreme drought since the summer and, in many cases, quite a bit longer than that. The weather pattern through the weekend will not help the situation.
A strong area of high pressure setting up over the West will promote significant warming. Santa Ana winds will bring the highest temperatures in the region to Southern California.
North to northeast winds began to strengthen in Southern California on Thursday and will continue through the weekend and beyond. Since many areas have seen little or no rain since the beginning of the new year, the strong winds will further dry out any vegetation. Given the strength of the winds and tinder-dry conditions, wind advisories and red flag warnings are in effect.
Just before 5 p.m. PST Thursday, a brush fire erupted around Erbes Road and Westland Avenue in Ventura County. The county's fire department reporting the newly sparked Erbes Fire was being "pushed by strong winds out of the northeast." Top wind reports in the area reached up to around 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Within the hour, the fire had expanded to about 250 acres, though the Ventura Fire Department had reported completing containment lines around most of the fire.
While warmth, dryness and wind have already been staples of the weather in Southern California in 2021, the mercury will be turned up to levels not experienced since the fall into at least the early part of the weekend. In fact, since January is typically one of the coolest months of the year, the temperature records have already fallen for many locations.
"A typical high temperature for downtown Los Angeles in mid-January is around 68 F," AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert said. "The high temperature will likely climb into the mid-80s each day through the first half of the weekend -- nearly 20 degrees above normal," she continued.
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Highs into Saturday will rival records in Los Angeles. The record high on Saturday is 86 degrees.
On Friday, Downtown Los Angeles broke the daily high of 85 degrees last set in 2014, the temperature reaching 88 degrees. LAX Airport also saw a new record for the daily high, breaking the record of 86 degrees set back in 1976 as temperatures reached 87 degrees.
Palm Springs eclipsed its record of 86 degrees set back in 1976 as temperatures reached 89 degrees on Friday. Previously, the record had stood unbroken for 45 years, Gilbert noted.
"Other cities like San Diego will also endure high temperatures of 15-20 degrees above normal through at least Saturday," Gilbert said.
On Friday, San Diego tied its all-time January high temperature record at 88 degrees set back in 1953, simultaneously breaking the daily high record of 82 degrees set in 2014.
The National Weather Service office in San Diego confirmed that over half of the temperature climate sites monitored by their office broke records on Friday.
Even in places where records are not tied or broken, anyone with outdoor plans will need to take precautions against the unseasonable warmth.
"Residents looking to safely soak up the September-like warmth and sunshine should be sure to keep themselves well-hydrated," Gilbert advised. Further complicating matters for Southern Californians is the coronavirus pandemic, which has been spiraling out of control.
Infections are spreading so quickly in In L.A. County, NBC News reported, that 10 people on average test positive for COVID-19 every minute, and one person dies of COVID-19 every six minutes.
By Sunday, although temperatures will be lower, widespread thermometer readings in the 80s are still expected away from the coast.
Early next week, a significant pattern change will drop temperatures much closer to normal. There is even the potential of some desperately needed precipitation, but the details are unclear at this time and the precipitation is far from a certainty.
"What does appear to be likely is a high-wind Santa Ana event that can create an extreme fire danger early next week,” according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski
Weather conditions leading up to that event will increase the fire threat.
"Weekend warmth and winds will act to thoroughly dry out vegetation and the landscape, which was dampened by rain earlier in the month," Sosnowski said.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Weather Forecasts
Temperatures may skyrocket 20 degrees above normal in L.A.
By Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Jan 14, 2021 12:53 PM EDT | Updated Jan 16, 2021 9:16 AM EDT
Despite the swell of the ocean being relatively small compared to the previous days, the King Tides still caused rather large waves to crash into Pacifica, California, on Jan. 12.
Southern California has been dealing with a terrible coronavirus surge to go along with a warm and dry start to the new year, and now people in that part of the country are in the midst of near summer-like warmth, which will pose multiple other dangers.
Much of the Southwest has been in the throes of an extreme drought since the summer and, in many cases, quite a bit longer than that. The weather pattern through the weekend will not help the situation.
A strong area of high pressure setting up over the West will promote significant warming. Santa Ana winds will bring the highest temperatures in the region to Southern California.
North to northeast winds began to strengthen in Southern California on Thursday and will continue through the weekend and beyond. Since many areas have seen little or no rain since the beginning of the new year, the strong winds will further dry out any vegetation. Given the strength of the winds and tinder-dry conditions, wind advisories and red flag warnings are in effect.
Just before 5 p.m. PST Thursday, a brush fire erupted around Erbes Road and Westland Avenue in Ventura County. The county's fire department reporting the newly sparked Erbes Fire was being "pushed by strong winds out of the northeast." Top wind reports in the area reached up to around 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Within the hour, the fire had expanded to about 250 acres, though the Ventura Fire Department had reported completing containment lines around most of the fire.
While warmth, dryness and wind have already been staples of the weather in Southern California in 2021, the mercury will be turned up to levels not experienced since the fall into at least the early part of the weekend. In fact, since January is typically one of the coolest months of the year, the temperature records have already fallen for many locations.
"A typical high temperature for downtown Los Angeles in mid-January is around 68 F," AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert said. "The high temperature will likely climb into the mid-80s each day through the first half of the weekend -- nearly 20 degrees above normal," she continued.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Highs into Saturday will rival records in Los Angeles. The record high on Saturday is 86 degrees.
On Friday, Downtown Los Angeles broke the daily high of 85 degrees last set in 2014, the temperature reaching 88 degrees. LAX Airport also saw a new record for the daily high, breaking the record of 86 degrees set back in 1976 as temperatures reached 87 degrees.
Palm Springs eclipsed its record of 86 degrees set back in 1976 as temperatures reached 89 degrees on Friday. Previously, the record had stood unbroken for 45 years, Gilbert noted.
"Other cities like San Diego will also endure high temperatures of 15-20 degrees above normal through at least Saturday," Gilbert said.
On Friday, San Diego tied its all-time January high temperature record at 88 degrees set back in 1953, simultaneously breaking the daily high record of 82 degrees set in 2014.
The National Weather Service office in San Diego confirmed that over half of the temperature climate sites monitored by their office broke records on Friday.
Even in places where records are not tied or broken, anyone with outdoor plans will need to take precautions against the unseasonable warmth.
"Residents looking to safely soak up the September-like warmth and sunshine should be sure to keep themselves well-hydrated," Gilbert advised. Further complicating matters for Southern Californians is the coronavirus pandemic, which has been spiraling out of control.
Infections are spreading so quickly in In L.A. County, NBC News reported, that 10 people on average test positive for COVID-19 every minute, and one person dies of COVID-19 every six minutes.
By Sunday, although temperatures will be lower, widespread thermometer readings in the 80s are still expected away from the coast.
Early next week, a significant pattern change will drop temperatures much closer to normal. There is even the potential of some desperately needed precipitation, but the details are unclear at this time and the precipitation is far from a certainty.
"What does appear to be likely is a high-wind Santa Ana event that can create an extreme fire danger early next week,” according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski
Weather conditions leading up to that event will increase the fire threat.
"Weekend warmth and winds will act to thoroughly dry out vegetation and the landscape, which was dampened by rain earlier in the month," Sosnowski said.
Related:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo