Dennis RomeroA short spring heatwave promises to give Los Angeles a little taste of summer in April, forecasters say. Even normally ocean-cooled beaches could see heat.
High pressure off the coast of Baja is behaving like a summer system, threatening to bring high temperatures well into the 80s in the L.A. Basin on Friday and Saturday, says National Weather Service meteorologist Kathy Hoxsie.
“The summer season is when these highs tend to develop off the coast of Mexico,” she says. “It's a precursor to summer.”
The system is expected to introduce itself today with strong offshore winds, according to the National Weather Service. Expect gusts up to 50 miles per hour in local mountains and along the 5 freeway grapevine, federal forecasters warned in an advisory.
Tomorrow and Saturday could see high temperatures reach the 90s in inland areas and in the valleys, Hoxsie says, and the high is expected to be 88 for both downtown and LAX. “On Saturday we have 90s across the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys and up into the Antelope Valley,” she says.
Sunday is a toss-up for now, but forecasters believe that a low-pressure system moving south from the Gulf of Alaska could push high temps down as many as 10 degrees. Sunday could see a high of 78 degrees, Moxsie says. Coastal temps might only reach 71.
“This is a true springtime transition where a high and a low are battling each other,” she says.
Low temperatures will remain in the 60s in the Metro L.A. area, forecasters say. Surf for today and tomorrow is expected to be a strong three to six feet.
Credit: NWS
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