Temps Hit 113 in L.A.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at 6:53AM A blistering fall heat wave broke records across California Monday, including an all-time high of 113 degrees in downtown Los Angeles.
Downtown hit the record-high temperature for a few minutes at about 12:15 p.m., breaking the previous record of 112 degrees set on June 26, 1990, said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist at the National Weather Service office in Oxnard. It was the hottest temperature recorded in downtown LA since record-keeping began in 1877.
The fall heat wave pushed temperatures well over 100 degrees from Anaheim, home of Disneyland, to San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz and Salinas on the usually balmy Central Coast. Many records were set or tied.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on Monday recorded the highest-ever demand for electricity. The utility registered a peak demand of 6,177 megawatts, breaking a previous record of 6,165 megawatts from July 2006.
The National Weather Service said the siege of dry heat was being caused by a ridge of high pressure over the West that was keeping the Pacific Ocean's normal moist and cool influence at bay.
Conditions are expected to remain hot Tuesday but not as extreme.
