If you like Halloween season hot and spooky, Mother Nature is about to deliver.

A high-pressure system over the Great Basin will help to generate creepy offshore winds and temperatures warm enough to make Lucifer cozy. Today represents only a transitional warmup, forecasters say. The frightening stuff will come later in the week.

“Dangerous fire-weather conditions will affect parts of the area starting Tuesday afternoon, with record heat possible later in the week,” according to the National Weather Service. “Winds between 25 and 45 mph can be expected,” added AccuWeather senior meteorologist Ken Clark. 

This after Los Angeles got its first real rain of the 2016–17 season early Monday.

Today will see high temperatures in the 70s along the coast, the 80s farther inland and the high 80s in valley areas like Woodland Hills, says NWS meteorologist Scott Sukup. Wednesday will see “most places in the 90s.”

Then the heat will go to up to 11 on the amplifier Thursday and Friday, “the hottest days” of the heat wave, Sukup said. “Even downtown L.A. could see 100,” he said. “It will be in the 90s all the way down to the coast.”

Friday is likely to see high temps in the mid-90s in the L.A. Basin, with cooling by about 5 degrees by Saturday and Sunday, Sukup said.

“A cooling trend will likely begin next weekend as a trough of low pressure approaches from the west,” according to the weather service.

Overnight lows Wednesday through Friday will be in the mid-60s, possibly higher in the foothills, Sukup said.

Red-flag fire warnings, triggered by offshore winds and hot, dry conditions, will start this afternoon and likely last at least through Thursday evening, he said. The weather service warned that we're in for a period of “extreme fire danger.”

“The combination of gusty north to northeast winds, very low humidities, hot conditions and extremely dry fuels will bring critical fire-weather conditions to parts of Santa Barbara and much of Ventura and Los Angeles counties by Wednesday,” according to the NWS. “The hot conditions may also result in an increased threat of heat-related illnesses.”

Cal Fire is gearing up. It will have “additional firefighters on duty” and special equipment at the ready. 

Stay cool. And maybe keep the pumpkins dark for now.

Credit: NWS

Credit: NWS

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