The week began with temperatures not far from normal in the Golden State, but things began to change on Wednesday.
Downtown Los Angeles soared to 88 degrees Fahrenheit. For perspective, the normal high in the City of Angels is 85 F during August. While Wednesday’s temperature was far short of the daily record of 106 F set in 1989, the record books may be rewritten on Friday when the temperature is projected to soar past the daily high mark of 92 F.
Despite falling short of a record on Wednesday in Los Angeles, a record high temperature was set in nearby Anaheim. The mercury reached 96 degrees, easily beating the record of 91 degrees from 2005.
On Thursday, temperatures in Burbank, California, reached 98 degrees just before 3 p.m., local time. This broke the old daily record of 91 by several degrees and approached the monthly high April record of 100. Several other cities in California also had no trouble breaking records on Thursday.
The record-challenging heat will not be limited to Southern California as cities all across the region experience a summer preview through the end of the week. The forecast high of 96 degrees in Fresno on Friday would best the daily record of 95 degrees set in 1989. Even as far north as the capital city of Sacramento, the high of 87 degrees will come close to the record of 91 degrees from 1989.
A big change in the pattern is forthcoming starting this weekend, however. Record-challenging heat is not expected to continue into the weekend with temperatures retreating to near-normal levels by Sunday.
