Fall Heat Wave Expected To Bring Triple-Digit Temperatures

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Summer's not over yet – triple-digit temperatures are expected Friday in several communities, heightening the risk of heat-related illnesses and fire danger in Southern California's fire-denuded hills.

Friday's temperatures will run 15-20 degrees above normal, with forecasted highs of 90 at LAX, 95 in Palmdale and Lancaster, 99 in downtown L.A and Long Beach and 105 in Woodland Hills. There won't be much relief in usually-cooler Orange County, with forecasted highs of 91 in Laguna Beach, 97 in Irvine and Mission Viejo, 101 in Fullerton and 102 in Yorba Linda, according to the National Weather Service.

However, this heat wave won't drag out as long, with temperatures expected to drop Saturday – generally three to five degrees – and a few more degrees Sunday.

In the meantime, a heat advisory will be in effect throughout Orange County Friday from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. As of Thursday, the advisory had been issued only for inland areas but now includes Orange County beach communities as well.

Temperature highs on Thursday, when the heat wave began in earnest as a result of high pressure anchored over the southwestern United States, turned out to be higher than had been forecast. Burbank was the hottest spot in Los Angeles County -- a distinction generally claimed by Woodland Hills -- with the high at Burbank's Bob Hope Airport reaching 102 to tie the Burbank record set on Oct. 8 1996.

Also issued for Orange County was a beach hazard statement – a step down from a high surf advisory – that will be in force from late Friday through Saturday night.

"A moderately long-period swell will bring dangerous rip currents and increased wave activity at area beaches this weekend," an NWS statement said.

"If you get caught in a rip current, try to conserve your energy and not swim against the current. Try to swim parallel to shore to get out of the current," it said.

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