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Temperatures in areas north of Los Angeles are expected to rise to as high as 112F (44.4C) by next Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. Overnight lows will generally remain in the 70s, offering little relief to residents.
“There is a high risk for dangerous heat illnesses for anyone, especially for the very young, the very old, and those without air conditioning and those active outdoors,” the weather service said.
Excessive heat warnings are up across Southern California, Nevada, Arizona and Idaho. While Los Angeles is forecast to remain in the mid-80s for the next few days, readings north of the city in Santa Clarita will rise into the 100s.
In addition, there is a threat for dry lightning across parts of Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, the US Storm Prediction Center said. The phenomenon is caused when a thunderstorm passes over air so dry that rain drops evaporate before they hit the ground. The arid air also dries out plants leaving them ready to burn.
In 2019, dry lightning, which also occurs in Australia, burnt more than 3 million acres in the US.
So far this year, fires have burned more than 3 million acres across the US, more than 770,291 acres for the same period last year and just over the 10-year average of 2.9 million, the US National Interagency Fire Center said. Lightning is blamed for 5,883 of the year’s 24,766 fires so far.
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