Hot Friday, Risk of thunderstorms

(Lake Elsinore)

Head to the ocean or lake on Friday...as it looks to be another hot day here in the southland.

Excessive heat warnings are in effect for the late morning through early evening hours Friday over the valleys of southern California, Los Angeles and Ventura county mountains and the far inland and foothill portions of the Orange county coastal plain.

In the above mentioned areas... heat indices are likely to exceed 105.

It will remain muggy across all of southern California... this make it feel even more uncomfortable.

It appears that the heat will last through the weekend...especially inland portions of the coastal plain and in the valleys.

Meanwhile... moist/unstable air will continue to spark afternoon and evening showers or thunderstorms over the mountains and deserts on Friday...with a small chance in the valleys of the IE and San Diego county.

Thunderstorms will have the potential of producing strong and gusty winds, locally heavy downpours, small hail and frequent cloud-to-ground lightning strikes.

Heat, humidity and risk of thunderstorms on Thursday

(Eclipse, Tuesday, August 28th, 2007)
-Infrared imagery-

***Updated at: 11:33am/pdt, Thursday, August 30th, 2007***

Another hot day for the southland...but the big change on Thursday compared to the past couple of days is the higher humidity. Dewpoints in the upper 50s to the middle 60s for the most part. This will make warmer than it actually is.

Due to these dangerous conditions... NOAA's National Weather Service has issued a "Excessive Heat Warning" for the valleys of the Inland Empire, San Diego county and the mountains and valleys of L.A. county for Thursday afternoon.

In these areas... heat indices will range from 102 to 108 degrees over the valleys of the Inland Empire and San Diego county... 105 to 110 over the valleys and lower elevations of the mountains of Los Angeles county Thursday afternoon.

As earlier mentioned the airmass over the southland has moistened up quite a bit since yesterday... due the moist air mass, the heat and an upper level disturbance moving over the region... Isolated to scattered showers or thunderstorms are possible Thursday and Thursday evening across the mountains and deserts of southern California. There is also a slight risk of thunderstorms over the valleys of the Inland Empire and San Diego county.

The greatest concentration of thunderstorms will be Thursday afternoon over the mountains and deserts of San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties... In these areas there is a chance of strong thunderstorms... which may produce strong and gusty winds to around 45 mph, locally heavy rains which may produce local flash flooding. Due to the heavy rain potential... NOAA's National Weather Service has posted a "Flash Flood Watch" Thursday afternoon and evening for the above mentioned areas.

Late summer heat

(Eclipse - Tuesday morning, August 28th, 2007)

Hot conditions across the southland on Wednesday and likely continue for the next few days as a strong ridge over the southland produces a strong off shore flow.

Some forecast high temperatures across So Cal on Wednesday...
Downtown LA: middle to upper 90s
Hollywood Hills: 100 to 105
Beverly Hills: middle to upper 90s
Lancaster/Palmdale: 102 to 108
Santa Monica Mountains: upper 90s
Anaheim: middle 90s
Downtown San Diego: around 80
Ontario: lower 100s
Big Bear Lake: middle 80s
Hesperia: around 106
Palm Springs: lower 110s

Beginning of another heat wave

(Towering cumulus - August 26th, 2007)

Another heat wave for the southland. The warmest days appear to be on Wednesday and Thursday... when downtown LA will reach the middle 90s.

Meanwhile valley locations will top 100 degrees. Woodland Hills will likely see temperatures around 108 degrees or so Wednesday and Thursday.

Even the beaches will be on the warm side with temperatures in the lower 80s.

The only good news with the heat wave is that the humidity will be lower than in the previous several days.

Isolated mountain/desert thunderstorms to begin the new week

(Infrared photo - Cumulus clouds, August 26th, 2007)

Lingering moist and unstable air over the southland will again spark afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms over most mountain locations on Monday along with the high desert region.

Primary threats from today's storms will be... locally gusty winds... brief moderate to locally heavy rain showers and cloud to ground lightning strikes.

For the coastal plain and the valley regions on Monday... look for mostly sunny skies.

It will continue be warm and humid.

Much warmer conditions are expected during the second half of the week with temperatures near 90 degrees for downtown LA Thursday and Friday... and temperatures nearing 100 degrees in the interior valleys.

Moist/unstable air over the southland

(Towering Cumulus - Saturday, August 25th, 2007)

***Updated at: 3:37pm/pdt, Sunday, August 26th, 2007***

Moist/unstable air mass in place over the southland will once again trigger showers or thunderstorms. This mainly due to the remnants of former hurricane "Dean".

Look for isolated/scattered showers & thunderstorms over all of southern California through Sunday evening...then a gradual decreasing in areal coverage and intensity later Sunday night and early Monday morning.

Thunderstorms will have the capability of producing... locally heavy downpours... locally gusty winds and cloud to ground lightning.

A brief waterspout is possible over the coastal waters through the early evening hours.

It will feel quite muggy through Sunday night also... with dewpoints in the upper 50s to the middle 60s for the most part which will make it feel warmer than it actually is.

Monsoonal flow returns Saturday

***Updated at: 10:33am/pdt, Saturday, August 25th, 2007***

The monsoon flow makes an appearance here in the southland this weekend.

This pattern will result in scattered showers/thunderstorms over the mountains and deserts...there's even a risk of some of these storms making west into the valleys of the IE and over the valleys and coastal regions of San Diego county.

The best chance of thunderstorms Saturday will be over the mountains/deserts of San Bernardino...Riverside and San Diego counties.

Thunderstorms in these areas will have the potential of producing... locally heavy downpours... gusty winds and cloud to ground lightning strikes.

For the entire region... look for an increase in the humidity through the weekend...which will make these quite uncomfortable for outdoor activities (especially on Sunday).

Gloomy Friday. Warmer and more humid over the weekend

An onshore flow will bring one more cool and gloomy day to the coastal and valleys on Friday.

Meanwhile over the weekend...
A pattern change.... the flow will turn to the southeast...resulting in warmer temperatures and and more humidity...along with an increasing threat of showers or thunderstorms over portions of southern California.

Right now... it appears the best chance of precipitation will be over the mountains and deserts of Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardin, Riverside and San Diego counties.

It's not totally out of the questtion Saturday night through Sunday night too see a few showers make its way over some of the valleys and even coastal regions. If this occurs...it mainly will be over San Diego county and in the Inland Empire.

Onshore flow over the southland

(Smoky morning - Monday, August 20th, 2007)

Onshore flow will bring cooler temperatures to the southland on Thursday along with morning gloom (low clouds and fog).

Afternoon sunshine is expected across all of SoCal.

Some selected forecast high temperatures for Thursday...
Long Beach: upper 70s

Santa Barbara (downtown): around 70

San Gabriel: lower to middle 80s

Ojai: upper 80s

Mount Wilson: middle 80s

Palmdale: upper 90s to near 100

Newport Beach: lower to middle 70s

San Bernardino: lower 90s

Hemet: around 95

Fallbrook: near 80

Big Bear Lake: around 80

Apple Valley: around 95

Thermal: around 108

29 Palms: around 106

Barstow: around 108

Cooler temperatures for Wednesday

(Cirrus clouds - Sunday afternoon, August 19th, 2007)

Cooler temperatures for the southland...especially coastal/valley areas.

Look for sunny skies except for morning low clouds and fog...mainly along the coastal plain.

Here are a few selected high temperatures for Wednesday and 24 hour temperature change from Tuesday.

Beverly Hills:
79 today/-23 change

San Diego (downtown):
77 today/-5 change

Miramar:
83 today/-7 change

Riverside:
99 today/-2 change

LAX Airport:
73 today/-8 change

Oxnard:
71 today/-5 change

Pasadena:
86 today/-8 change

One more warm day for the southland

(Smoky skies - Monday morning, August 20th, 2007)

One more warm day for the southland on Tuesday...than cooler temperatures for the remainder of the week.

For example today's high for downtown LA will be around 90 than lower to 80 degrees on Wednesday and upper 70s Thursday and Friday.

Some other forecast highs for Tuesday and Wednesday...
Long Beach:
around 90 Tuesday/upper 70s Wednesday

Avalon:
near 80 Tuesday/near 70 Wednesday

Pasadena:
middle 90s Tuesday/middle 80s Wednesday

Newhall:
around 102 Tuesday/lower 90s Wednesday

Chula Vista:
middle 80s Tuesday/middle 70s Wednesday

Temecula:
around 100 Tuesday/middle 90s Wednesday

Red Flag Warnings continue in effect through Wednesday evening for low humidities for the mountains of Santa Barbara...Ventura and Los Angeles counties (excluding the Santa Monica's).

No change... continued very warm

(Sunrise - Sunday, August 19th, 2007)

***Updated: 2:38pm/pdt, Monday, August 20th, 2007***

Continued warm temperatures has the southland begins and new week.

Look for mostly sunny skies on Monday. Areas of smoke will continue to drift over the Santa Barbara, Ventura and northern Los Angeles counties skies.

Some forecast high temperatures on Monday...
Downtown Los Angeles... upper 80s to around 90
Burbank... lower to middle 90s
San Gabriel... lower 90s
Thousand Oaks... upper 80s to near 90
Lancaster/Palmdale... around 102
Downtown San Diego... around 80
Ontario... middle to upper 90s
Wrightwood... lower to middle 80s
Fremont Canyon... around 90
Mount Laguna... middle to upper 80s
Borrego Springs... around 109

There is a "Red Flag Warning" through 8:00pm/pdt Wednesday evening for the mountains of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles county mountains (excluding the Santa Monica's) for gusty winds, hot temperatures and very low dewpoints.

Warm weather continues...

(Smoky Morning - Saturday, August 18th, 2007)

Sunday will be a carbon copy of Saturday over southern California.

Look for mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies with warm temperatures.

Some forecast high temperatures for Sunday...
Mid city Los Angeles... upper 80s to around 90
Anaheim... lower 90s
Dana Point... upper 70s
Oceanside... lower to middle 70s
Chino... middle to upper 90s
Cuyuma... lower to middle 90s
Mount Wilson... upper 80s
Lancaster... around 100
Malibu... middle to upper 70s
Point Mugu... upper 70s
Idyllwild... lower 90s

...There will be areas of smoke from the Zaca Fire over portions of Santa Barbara, Ventura and northern portions of Los Angeles counties Sunday.

Warm Saturday across SoCal

(Balboa Park - San Diego)

Mostly sunny skies and warm temperatures expected across the southland on Saturday.

Forecast high temperatures will range from the 70s at the beaches to the 90s to the lower 100s out in the valley areas.

Downtown LA/Inland OC will see temperatures reach 90 degrees by mid-afternoon.

Hot weather to end the work week

(Summer afternoon at Santa Monica Beach)

You may want to head to beach Friday afternoon as temperatures once again will be on the hot side.

Forecast high temperatures will range from the middle 70s to the lower 80s at the beaches to around 90 in Mid city LA and inland portions of the OC.

The valleys will see temperatures ranging from the middle to upper 90s in the coastal valleys. 100 to 107 in the interior valleys.

All areas on Friday will see mostly sunny skies.

A few mountain/desert thunderstorms on Thursday

(Desert Thunderstorm - July, 2005)

There will continue to be enough instability and moisture to produce afternoon and evening showers/storms over the mountains/deserts of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties on Thursday.

The primary threats from any storms that do develop will be... brief downpours, locally gusty winds and cloud-to-ground lightning strikes.

Elsewhere across the southland... it will continue to be hot and sticky on Thursday. Temperatures will once again be around 90 in mid city LA and inland portions of the OC, 100 to 106 in the interior valleys.

If you want relief from the heat... head to the beaches... temperatures along the immediate coast will range in the middle 70s to near 80.

Another hot and sticky day

(Latest Water Vapor Imagery)

Little change from Tuesday's weather expected for the southland. High pressure over the southern high plains/southern Rockies will continue to the warm/moist off shore over the region on Wednesday. This will result in temperatures once again exceeding the 100 degree mark in the interior portions of SoCal with the only cool spots along the immediate coast where daytime high temperatures will be in the middle 70s to the lower 80s.

Mid city LA and inland portions of the OC will see high temperatures around 90 degrees (give or take a couple degrees).

There will be enough instability and moisture caught up in the offshore flow to produce afternoon/evening showers or thunderstorms over the mountains and deserts.

Main threats from the storms will be locally gusty winds... brief downpours and cloud to ground lightning strikes.

Hot Tuesday

***Updated at: 09:35am/pdt, Tuesday, August 14th, 2007***

High pressure over the southern Rockies/southern high plains will continue to produce an off shore over the southland through mid week.

This will result in continued hot and sticky conditions over region.

Moisture embedded in the southeasterly flow will spark isolated afternoon/evening showers or thunderstorms over the mountains and deserts of San Bernardino...Riverside and San Diego counties.

Dry lightning strikes will be the primary threat from any thunderstorms that do occur.

As for the high temperatures on Tuesday...
Temperatures will exceed the 100 degree mark in several locations... including the valleys and deserts.

For mid city LA and inland OC... look for temperatures in the upper 80s to the lower 90s Tuesday afternoon.

The beaches will not escape the warm temperatures either... forecast high temperatures will be in the middle 70s to the lower 80s for most southland beach communities.

The heat is on...

(Timelapse - Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007, 5:20am-6:00am)

Southern California will be experiencing hot (possibly record levels) over the next few days...as an offshore flow (from the northeast) will be the main prevailing weather pattern.

The hottest day appears to be on Tuesday as some valley locations will see daytime high tempereatures at or slightly above the 105 degree mark.

Downtown Los Angeles will likely see temperatures approach 90 degrees on Tuesday.

If you want relief... head the beaches where temperatures will remain in the 70s to the lower 80s.

Warm temperatures for Sunday

(San Bernardino mountains - Rim of the World)

Warm temperatures expected across SoCal over the next couple of days as high pressure expands westward.

The only cool spots will be the immediate coast...where an "Eddy" will continue to bring a weak onshore flow.

Here's a few selected high temperatures across the southland for Sunday...

Mid City LA: lower to middle 80s
Newhall: middle to upper 90s
Lake Arrowhead: near 80
Mount Laguna: middle 80s
29 Palms: near 104
Fremont Canyon: lower 90s
Santa Monica Mountains: middle to upper 80s
Acton: lower to middle 90s
Hemet: near 101
Frazier Park: middle 80s
Woodland Hills: near 100

Remember the sunscreen (SPF 15 or Higher) if you plan to be outdoors!

Head to the beach!

(San Juan Capistrano Beach - October, 1993)

Perfect beach weather for the southland Saturday...as temperatures along the coast will be in the lower to middle 70s with light seabreeze under 10 mph.

Meanwhile... the valleys of the IE will reach into the middle to upper 90s.

For downtown Los Angeles and inland portions of the OC. Temperatures will be in the lower to middle 80s Saturday afternoon.

Sunday's temperatures will be a bit warmer than Saturday's... with valleys of the IE reaching to near the 100 degree mark.

Warm Friday across the southland

(Summer afternoon at Newport Beach)

Other than morning low clouds and fog along the coast and in some coastal valleys... skies will be mostly sunny across SoCal to end the work week.

Temperatures will be on the warm side...except along the immediate coast where temperatures will be in the lower to middle 70s.

Downtown Los Angeles/Inland Orange County will see temperatures hit the middle 80s by mid-afternoon.

The valleys will be in the middle 80s to the middle 90s (warmest in the interior valleys).

Over the weekend into early next week...
High pressure will expand westward... bringing warmer temperatures and an increasing humidity.

Earthquake - early Thursday morning

(San Fernando Valley - as viewed from the Hollywood Hills)

Magnitude 4.5 earthquake shook a wide section of southern California. It was centered 4 miles north/northwest of Chatsworth at: 12:58am/pdt Thursday.

No reports of any damage or injuries (except for items falling from shelves & walls).

The quake was felt as far west as Santa Barbara...east to Altadena and as south to Marina Del Rey (according to news radio reports).

As for Thursday's weather...

Slightly warmer temperatures expected across the southland. Mostly sunny skies except for patchy morning low clouds and fog along the coast from LA county southward to San Diego county.

High temperatures will range from near 70 at the beaches to the lower to middle 90s in the interior valleys.

Metropolitan LA/Orange counties will see lower to middle 80s Thursday afternoon.

Warm and more humid weather expected over the weekend into the first of part of next week.

Less morning gloom on Wednesday

(San Diego - Harbor)

Not as much morning gloom (low clouds & fog) as previous days.

Look for patchy coastal/valley low clouds and fog during the morning hours...otherwise mostly sunny skies on Wednesday.

Temperatures will reach the 70 degree mark at the beaches with lower 80s interior portions of the coastal plain (including downtown LA).

The valleys will see temperatures in the 80s (except lower to middle 90s in the Inland Empire).

High pressure wil likely expand over the region this coming weekend and early next.

This will result in warmer than normal temperatures and more humidity across the southland.

June like weather continues

(Gloom over Coronado Island)

Morning gloom shouldn't be as extensive on Tuesday as it was on Tuesday... but still expect patchy morning low clouds and fog along much of the coast extending inland to some valley locations.

Otherwise... skies will be mostly sunny with temperatures remaining a few degrees below the seasonal normals.

Later in the week and over the weekend... models still suggesting that the high pressure over the southern Rockies will move back westward. This will turn the flow more from the southeast. This will result in warmer temperatures and afternoon clouds over the mountains.

Gloomy Monday for some

(Twilight on Pismo Beach)

Onshore flow will continue to the night and morning gloom (low clouds & fog) for the coastal and valley through mid-week.

Skies will clear to the coast during the afternoon hours.

Temperatures will be on the cool side near the coast with high temperatures not expected to get much above the 70 degree mark.

Elsewhere... temperatures will reach into the upper 70s in mid-city L.A, upper 70s to the lower 80s for interior portions of the OC and in the lower to middle 80s in the coastal valleys.

Meanwhile... with a bit more sunshine forecast for the valleys fo the IE. Temperatures will make it into the middle 80s to around 90 there.

There is some indication from some of the computer models that the monsoon flow may return to parts of SoCal by the the week's end as high pressure will move westward.

So... Stay Tuned!!!

June like weather across the southland Sunday

(Gloomy evening - Santa Monica Beach)

Upper level low pressure will bring cooler, gloomy day over the coastal plains and in the valleys through mid-week. There will be some breaks in the gloom at times during the afternoon hours (especially in the valleys and inland areas of the coastal plain).

Meanwhile over the mountains and deserts... variably amounts of mid to high level clouds will pass over... mainly Sunday afternoon.

Temperatures Sunday will be only in the upper 60s to the lower 70s at the coast, middle to upper 70s downtown Los Angeles and in the 80s in the valleys...except in the lower 90s in some of the interior valleys of the IE.

Weekend weather

(Somewhere off the San Diego County coast)

A nice weekend for southern California as an onshore flow bring "June" like weather to the coastal and valley areas.

Look for night and morning low clouds and fog giving way to afternoon sunshine both Saturday and Sunday.

Temperatures around 70 at the beaches to near 80 downtown LA and in the middle 80s to the lower 90s in the valleys (except middle to upper 90s interior valleys).

Drier air for the mountains/deserts, More gloom for the coast and valleys through the weekend

(Along the 15 FWY - Near Hesperia)

High pressure has shifted east...allowing for drier/more stable air to move over the mountains and deserts.

Along the coast and in the valleys, a trough will enhance the onshore flow through the weekend. Resulting, an extensive marine layer and cooler temperatures.

Drier/more stable air to move into the southland

(Big Bear Lake - March 2003)

Drier air will begin to push across the southland over the next few days...as a west/southwest flow develops...due to a trough of low pressure moving into the Pacific NW region.

For the southland this will mean extensive coastal and valley low clouds and fog. Mostly sunny skies over the mountains and deserts...except there will be a slight risk of afternoon showers/tstorms over the southern mountains and deserts Thursday and Friday.

Temperatures will be slightly cooler through the weekend.

Same old weather across SoCal

(Altocumulus/Altostratus clouds)

Another day...and no real change in the weather across southern California.

Look for mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies...except morning low clouds and fog...coastal and valley areas.

There will be a continued slight risk of afternoon and evening shouwers and thunderstorms over the mountains and deserts of LA/San Bernardino/Riverside and San Diego counties.

Some of the storms may produce... gusty winds and brief downpours.