Southern California’s wild winter continues with record-threatening heat, then a chance of rain

Southern California’s recent unusually warm temperatures are expected to ramp up over the next couple of days, peaking by midweek, when some areas will see highs reach into the low 90s.

“There’s a possibility that a few locations could hit their daily record — or possibly exceed it,” said Paul Steward, a National Weather Service meteorologist in San Diego. He said a widespread ridge of high pressure will continue to strengthen through Wednesday, which is expected to be the region’s warmest day. Temperatures are forecast to be 15 to 20 degrees above normal, Steward said.

Downtown Los Angeles was about 14 degrees above normal Sunday, reaching 82 degrees. Temperatures could climb into the 90s by Wednesday across the region’s coasts and valleys, according to the weather service’s Monday morning forecast.

Drier, warmer weather is generally expected across California this week — and appears to be part of a national trend.

“Warm weather lovers are in luck as much of the nation will be 10-20 degrees above average,” the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center posted on X over the weekend. “High temperatures in the 70s and 80s will be possible from the Plains to the Southwest.”

In Southern California, highs on Wednesday have the best chance of setting records as increasing offshore winds will further drive up temperatures.

The warming will be widespread, with the potential for daily high temperature records breaking from the coast to inland valleys, said Ariel Cohen, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Oxnard.

The weather service’s San Diego office expects several areas could approach record-breaking heat Wednesday, including Riverside, Anaheim and El Cajon, which are all expected to reach into the high 80s or hit 90.

“Regardless of records, unseasonably warm temperatures may affect heat-sensitive populations for all inland areas,” the weather service’s San Diego office said on X.

But by Thursday, a gradual cooling trend will begin, though temperatures will remain above average, Cohen said.

By the weekend, there’s a chance it could rain in the Southland, but Cohen said that any precipitation will be “very light.”

In Northern California, a storm moving across the Pacific Northwest was expected to bring rain to the area Monday, before the warming trend settles there as well. Highs in Sacramento and Redding are likely to hit over 70 degrees later this week, and the Bay Area is expecting highs 10 to 15 degrees over seasonal norms.