The final day of winter in Southern California is going to be a scorcher.
A weeklong heat wave that has shattered records across the Southland will keep temperatures hovering 20 to 30 degrees above normal Thursday, sending temperatures into the triple digits in the valleys and inland while it will be in the 80s and 90s along the coast.
In terms of late winter heat waves, this one so far has been historic.
Not only has it been shattering dozens of daily temperature records — locations in L.A. and Ventura counties broke 10 daily temperature records Wednesday alone— but all-time heat records for March, too.
Palmdale, Lancaster and Paso Robles all set new all-time March temperature records Wednesday, reaching 92, 93 and 95 degrees, respectively. So did Indio and Thermal, where it reached 107 degrees on Wednesday, respectively, and Palm Springs, where it hit 105.
“We’re breaking so many records, it’s definitely pretty clear that it’s one of the warmest Marches we’ve ever had,” National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Lewis told The Times Wednesday. “It’s more similar to the heat waves we see in the summer.”
An extreme heat warning remains in place for most inland areas — and a heat advisory for coastal regions — through Friday, with officials urging people to be on guard for signs of heat-related illness.
“Dangerously hot temperatures will continue all week,” the National Weather Service’s Oxnard office wrote in its Thursday morning forecast.
Moderate relief is in sight this weekend, however, when forecasters predict the powerful high pressure system will start to flatten out, bringing a gradual drop in temperatures.
