Welcome to another heat wave. Triple-digit temperatures on tap for Southern California.
A number of cities declared their own heat emergencies, including Los Angeles, where temperatures were expected to break an all-time record.
Many stations will hit triple digits Sunday.
And that’s just in L.A.
So how does a city, which is not far from the Bay Area, manage to reach an all-time record for the hottest day of the year in Southern California?
Some heat waves are bigger than others. Los Angeles’ current record is set only once every 10 years. But this one is at least a month in duration and is expected to break the record.
We spoke to the city’s public health director to find out what’s going on.
“The city is not as vulnerable to these heat waves,” said Dr. Jonathan Field, who noted that the city, with a population that is 37 percent Latino, is no stranger to higher temperatures.
Field said the city has been focusing on two key factors: keeping traffic moving — even on the busiest stretches of roads — and keeping people indoors.
Here’s what you need to know about L.A.’s heat wave.
Where it’s coming from
On Thursday, the National Weather Service issued a heat alert for Los Angeles County. And it wasn’t just the temperature.
It’s the humidity.
And here’s what NOAA called the main culprit: Heat waves of this intensity last five to 10 days.
This heat wave is projected to continue on into Friday and into this weekend.
That’s when it’s expected to peak.
“It’s usually when there’s this combination of high humidity, warm temperatures and low wind speeds at these sort of places where there’s more people, more cars,” said Field.
So what’s the weather pattern that could cause such a heat wave?
Field said it’s due to a high-pressure ridge that’s over the southwest United States and a low-pressure system that has just been over South Africa.
“That’s what’s causing this heat wave. It’s not climate change,” he said.
And while the weather is a leading cause for the
