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Heat wave continues until Thursday for much of Southern California

by in News

Hot weather across Southern California is expected to stick around until Thursday with the mercury hitting the highest in the Inland Empire, valleys and desert areas.

The heat is due to a high pressure system above the West Coast, weather experts say.

Record high temperatures for May 26 were reached in Anaheim and San Jacinto, with temperatures of 89 and 99, respectively, according to the National Weather Service.

The old records for Anaheim and San Jacinto were 84 and 96, both recorded in 2014. The NWS has been keeping temperature records in Anaheim since 1989 and in San Jacinto since 1948.

“We’re in the midst of a heat wave,” said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist for the NWS in Oxnard, which covers Los Angeles County.

“It’s not uncommon to have heat waves in May,” he said, adding that there is a strong high pressure system and summer is not that far off.

  • Arlene Pedroza and her family decide to slow down while their Menifee home is being remodeled at Launch Pointe Recreation Destination and RV Park’s splash pad in Lake Elsinore on a sweltering hot Tuesday afternoon, May 26, 2020. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Launch Pointe Recreation Destination and RV Park goers cool off at its Lake Elsinore splash pad on a sizzling 97 degree Tuesday afternoon, May 26, 2020. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

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  • Launch Pointe goers cool off under a drenching bucket dump at the Lake Elsinore park on a 97 degree Tuesday afternoon, May 26, 2020. They preferred not to give names, but photos are fine. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Caleb Bacon, 7, of Oceanside sticks it out staying under the bucket dump, while his younger sister scrams at Launch Pointe Recreation Destination and RV Park’s splash pad in Lake Elsinore on a 97 degree Tuesday afternoon, May 26, 2020. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Caleb Bacon, 7, of Oceanside looks towards his younger sister as the two frolic at Launch Pointe Recreation Destination and RV Park’s splash pad in Lake Elsinore on a blistering 97 degree Tuesday afternoon, May 26, 2020. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • A masked cowboy maintains social distance from his sidekick at Poe St. and Graham Ave. in Lake Elsinore on a hot Tuesday afternoon, May 26, 2020. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

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The San Gabriel Valley is expected to see temperatures in the low to mid 90s on Wednesday and Thursday, Wofford said. He added that temperatures in the San Fernando Valley will be several degrees higher than that.

The National Weather Service issued a heat warning for the Antelope Valley from Tuesday morning until 7 p.m. Thursday. Wofford said the Antelope Valley could see temperatures between 100 and 105 degrees.

There is also a heat warning in effect until 7 p.m. Friday for Coachella Valley, San Gorgonio Pass near Banning and the San Diego County deserts, according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures could reach between 108 and 112 degrees, said Casey Oswant, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service San Diego office. She added that the hottest temperatures are expected to occur Wednesday and Thursday.

She said temperatures in the Inland Empire will reach the mid to upper 90s. The temperatures will start going down to the mid to low 80s in that area on Friday, Oswant said.

It will be cooler in comparison in Orange County where the mercury will hover in the mid to low 80s until Thursday, according to Oswant.

In Los Angeles County, Wofford said temperatures will be in the mid 70s to low 80s in Long Beach, Carson and San Pedro while it will be in the low 80s to mid 80s in Whittier until Thursday.

Both meteorologists said the cooling trend will start Friday.

Oswant offered several suggestions to deal with the heart — stay hydrated, have access to a cool place and don’t exercise outside on the hottest part of the day which she said is between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Staff writer Robert Gundran contributed to this story.