Southern California Continues To Broil Under Extreme Heat, Lightning

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — On the third day of triple-digit heat and a second straight day of widespread power outages, forecasters now say that heat wave roasting Southern California will probably last longer than expected.

Thousands of homes were in the dark in Los Angeles due to weather-related outages throughout the night, but the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power says they now have fewer than 900 customers in the dark after about 11,000 Boyle Heights customers sweltered in the dark Wednesday night.

LADWP officials said crews worked around the clock to repair overloaded equipment in Arleta. The total number of LADWP customers hit by power outages peaked at 14,000 overnight Wednesday.

Southern California Edison also reported more than 1,400 of their customers in Los Angeles County, and nearly 1,500 in Riverside County were without power at one point.

"The combination of strong high pressure and weak onshore flow will continue to produce dangerously high temperatures across the region through at least Saturday," according to a National Weather service statement.

Previously, forecasters had said the high heat would last through Friday.

As has been the case since Saturday, the highest temperatures were expected in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita, San Gabriel and Antelope valleys and at lower elevations in the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains. Highs in those areas are expected to range from 100 to 112, NWS forecasters said, and overnight lows will not drop below the mid-70s.

Even beach communities will be warm, with highs ranging from the 80s to the mid-90s.

And to complicate matters, lightning strikes were seen over North Hollywood, Azusa and Adelanto, but with little to no rain. Forecasters called the sight "dry lightning," and the prospect of a lightning strike, combined with the extreme heat, raises the chances of brush fires exponentially.

A heat advisory will remain in effect until 10 a.m. along the coast, in beach cities, in metropolitan Los Angeles and the Hollywood Hills, then be immediately replaced by a more serious excessive heat warning -- the first time this week that such a warning has been issued for the coastal zone.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)