Southern California's heat wave set to peak Wednesday, forecasters say
Southern California's prolonged heat wave is expected to peak Wednesday, bringing along heat-related illness and fire risks, according to the National Weather Service.
Conditions for the week have been nearly unprecedented for this time of year, according to CBS LA meteorologists. If forecasts hold, it could be the first time triple-digit temperatures are felt in Los Angeles for three consecutive days since the 1880s.
Wednesday is expected to be the warmest day of 2026 so far across Southern California.
"This is a dangerous heat event and almost all areas are under either an extreme heat warning or a heat advisory," a NWS bulletin said.
CBS LA has issued a Next Weather Alert for the entire region through Saturday due to the extreme heat.
Daily heat records are expected to be threatened in various communities throughout LA, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, according to the NWS.
Wednesday's high temperatures include:
- 101 degrees in downtown LA
- 111 in Van Nuys
- 90 in Camarillo
- 89 in Malibu
- 107 in Santa Clarita
- 105 in Lancaster
- 105 in Palmdale
- 100 in Pasadena
- 108 in Victorville
- 101 in Claremont
- 97 in Fullerton
- 90 in Santa Ana
- 85 in Laguna Beach
- 109 in San Bernardino
- 109 in Riverside
- 104 in Temecula
- 115 in Palm Springs
The high temperatures are spurring wildfire concerns from officials. The NWS has enacted a red flag warning through Friday afternoon, advising that the heat paired with winds could create dangerous fire behavior.
"A very hot and unstable air mass combined with locally gusty winds and low humidities will bring a significant risk of large plume-dominated fires with rapid spread and extreme fire behavior," the warning reads.
Power shutoffs
Continuing a trend for the heat wave, as many as 3,288 Southern California Edison customers could be without power on Wednesday as the utility considers public safety power shutoffs.
The utility says the shutoffs are sometimes essential as fire risks become more prevalent.
Public safety power shutoffs being considered, as of Tuesday afternoon:
- Inyo County: 304 customers
- Los Angeles County: 1,888 customers
- Mono County: 111 customers
- San Bernardino County: 108 customers
- Santa Barbara County: 877 customers
The rest of the week
While Wednesday is expected to be the warmest day of the current heat event, Thursday isn't expected to see a large drop-off.
Thursday's high temperatures were predicted only a couple of degrees cooler than Wednesday, with most inland communities still projected well into triple-digit temperatures.
The more significant cool-off isn't expected until Sunday. Valley temperatures are expected to return to seasonal averages by Monday or Tuesday, with high temperatures in the high 80s or low 90s.
Tuesday's records
Heat records were set in the following communities on Tuesday:
- 85 degrees at LAX (Previous: 84 in 1981)
- 86 in Camarillo (Prev: 85 in 1931)
- 87 in Oxnard (Prev: 85 in 1931)
- 116 in Thermal (Tied: 116 in 2020)