A heat wave will hit SoCal like waves from Tropical Storm Elida hit the beaches

Southern California will face a double threat this week with dangerous heat and, on the coast, dangerous high tides.

Conditions are being brought about by high pressure from the east and the unusual path of Tropical Storm Elida, which is moving north in the Pacific Ocean and is expected to bring dangerous surf and strong currents to Southern California beaches.

High temperatures are expected to begin Tuesday and continue for seven days, with the possibility of a “severe heat hazard” this weekend, according to the National Weather Service office in Oxnard. Dangerously high temperatures will also affect the Inland Empire, inland Orange County, San Diego County valleys and deserts and mountains.

On Wednesday, temperatures could reach 105 degrees in Lancaster, 103 in Canoga Park, 98 in Santa Clarita, 95 in Covina, 89 in downtown LA, 86 in Santa Barbara and Thousand Oaks, and 85 in Long Beach. Temperatures later this week are expected to top 100 degrees in the Inland Empire and other parts of San Diego County, and top 110 in the desert, said Sebastian Westerink, a meteorologist with the San Diego weather service office.

Meteorologists have also warned of possible severe weather in interior areas from Tuesday to Monday. Forecasters warned of light to moderate sunset winds in southwest Santa Barbara County this afternoon and evening from Tuesday into Thursday. Hot, dry air descends on the southern slopes of the Santa Ynez Mountains and is prone to spreading fires quickly.

Going to the beach for a break from the heat can be dangerous.

Dangerous waves are expected on the beaches affected by Tropical Storm Elida, which originated in southern Mexico. Elida has started moving north a few days ago, and is expected to cause high surf. Lifeguards have warned of dangerous swimming conditions in Elida, particularly on south-facing beaches, this week. Beaches can experience surf heights of 4 to 8 feet.

Orange County is already experiencing waves 4 to 6 feet high on its south-facing beaches, “with some sets of 6 to 8 feet,” Westerink said. “We expect those tides to remain elevated through at least Tuesday.” They may subside for a while, but another system – Tropical Storm Fausto – could create “some form of high swell on our beaches later this week into the weekend.”

Fausto is moving west, which is normal as tropical storms usually follow warm water. But Elida is an unusual situation when traveling north.

“Tropical areas need warm ocean water to survive, and it’s going to quickly fall from warm water … to cooler water to the north, near California,” said meteorologist Rachel Kennedy of the weather service’s Monterey office. “And if it makes that transition from warm water to cool water, it will collapse quickly.

Tropical Storm Fausto may also send dangerous waves into Southern California.

(National Weather Service)

Elida is expected to remain offshore from California. However, moisture from the tail of the tropical storm, had already arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area on Sunday and was expected to last for several days, bringing the chance of sprinkles or very light rain, with isolated lightning, to parts of the Bay Area and the Central Coast. Chances of that are early Monday morning and again Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

There could be some colorful sunsets and sunrises, said meteorologist Lamont Bain of the weather service’s Monterey office. These events were observed at the beginning of this month due to the monsoon moisture that comes from the south and brings medium clouds. The setting sun shines beneath those clouds and creates a beautiful sunset.

Tropical Storm Elida has been responsible for increased humidity in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas, meteorologists said.

“We can see it in the humidity we’ve all been feeling,” said Kennedy.

The ongoing ocean heat wave from Southern California may also play a factor.

“The conditions we’re feeling on the coast — the kind of strong winds — are a result of warmer ocean temperatures,” Westerink said. “Like our beaches: I mean San Clemente, 76 degrees – that’s amazing – 74 in Solana, 72 in Newport.

“The ocean has a very strong influence on the temperature of the air,” he added, “because it almost heats the air above it … and gives it moisture and humidity.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s California marine heat-wave tracker, ocean temperatures along the state’s coast are “among the warmest ever seen for this time of year, rivaled only by the winter disturbances seen during the strongest El Niño on record in 1997-1998, and the warmest of 101-202 years. The ocean heat wave is not even influenced by El Niño at this time; the effects of El Niño will begin visibility in coastal sea temperatures from autumn.

Ocean heat waves are present along the coast of Southern California and further offshore, in western Oregon and Northern California.

(NOAA)

The heat wave that has hit Southern California is caused by a high pressure system currently centered in Utah and Wyoming that is moving to the southwest, said Carol Ciliberti, a meteorologist at the weather service’s office in Oxnard, on Sunday. High pressure causes cold air to sink into the atmosphere, where it compresses, warms and dries.

Avoid working outside when it’s too hot if you can, Ciliberti says, and if you have to work, “you want to rest in the shade as often as needed.” People should stay in air-conditioned areas if they can, and avoid walking your dogs during the heat of the day.

“Never leave children or pets in a parked car,” Ciliberti said.

The temperature continued to be hotter than usual.

California had its hottest January through June on record, dating back to 1895, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information, as did Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.

“And looking at the last 12 months as a whole, the 12-month period is actually the hottest in the lower 48 on record. [states],” climate scientist Zachary Labe of the nonprofit Climate Central said at a briefing last week.

The driver of the unrelenting pace of record temperatures, Labe said, is human-caused climate change.