Southern California braces for another September heat wave
LOS ANGELES – In another sign that it’s not too late to save the planet from global warming, a record-breaking heat wave is forecast for the Southland this month.
This is a strong reminder that climate change is already affecting the natural world beyond our control. It is also further showing just how quickly, how quickly the damage can happen.
In Los Angeles, two days of temperatures ranging from the low 90s to the high 120s are expected to begin this week. That’s in a city that has been without a record hottest day since records began in 1934. The records are compiled here, in this space.
There won’t be a heat wave without some record-breaking weather. Last week’s record hot temperatures were accompanied by major rainstorms in the Los Angeles area. For example, the storm that began on Monday night that dropped 2 inches of rain on the Los Angeles basin, the first time the L.A. region was getting more than an inch of rain during the same period in four years.
On Tuesday, another round of record-breaking high temperatures is expected to take hold.
And it appears that what happens in the L.A. area may be the first sign of what will happen to the other side of the country.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles forecasts a high pressure system that will bring rain and thunderstorms across southern California beginning Tuesday night. It will drop up to 2 inches of rain per hour from Tuesday night through Thursday, with an isolated downpour of up to an inch from Thursday through Sunday.
In L.A. County, an area of 1 million people – the City of Angels – is expected to see a low of 86 degrees Saturday. Friday’s high temperatures and heat index for the area average is expected to be about 93.
On the other coast, the entire coastal region from San Diego to the Mexican border is expected to see high temperatures of 91 or higher this week. That heat index average will be about 100.
An area of about 1.2 million people in the Sonoma-Marin area is likely to have a heat index of at least 101 today. In fact, that’s been the warmest period in the history of the Sonoma-Marin area, a former farming area that now has a more diverse economy with vineyards, restaurants, entertainment venues