Southern California will enjoy a brief respite from record-breaking temperatures for the next few days, but it probably won’t feel like it.

High humidity will bring muggy and sticky conditions to the Southland this week, while a band of moisture could generate thunderstorms in the deserts, according the National Weather Service.

On Monday, scattered showers will move throughout Los Angeles County and could bring dangerous lightning and flash flooding in the mountains and deserts, forecasters say.

Temperatures will drop by 4 to 8 degrees in Los Angeles County and Ventura County on Monday and Tuesday.


The slight cool-down comes after sweltering heat toppled records throughout Southern California during the weekend. In downtown Los Angeles, the temperature hit 98 degrees on Saturday, shattering a 131-year-old record of 95 degrees, set in 1886.

As temperatures climbed in downtown Los Angeles, 140,000 customers lost power in the San Fernando Valley on Saturday when an explosion at a Los Angeles Department Water and Power plant in Northridge sparked a fire that burned for hours.

Forecasters said triple-digit heat continued to plague the valleys on Sunday. Temperatures reached 106 in Duarte, 104 at Saddleback Butte, 103 in Ojai and 102 in Westlake Village.

This week’s cool-down, forecasters say, may be short lived.


By Wednesday and Thursday, warmer temperatures could return with widespread triple-digit heat this weekend.

Conditions along the coast will be ideal for surfing on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Hurricane Eugene, which is swirling in the eastern Pacific Ocean off Mexico, could bring surf as high as 10 feet along south facing beaches in Orange and San Diego counties.

In Los Angeles County, surf could reach 8 feet and bring dangerous rip currents and flooding along the coast.


veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Twitter: VeronicaRochaLA

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