Southern California Fries in Heat Wave

Numerous places across Los Angeles and neighboring counties passed 100 degrees well before noon Monday.

Southern California is in the grip of a severe heat wave that has sent temperatures surging.

Numerous places across Los Angeles and neighboring counties passed 100 degrees well before noon Monday. The National Weather Service says the thermometer hit 121 degrees in Palm Springs by 1 p.m.

Forecasters expect Monday to be the peak of the heat wave, with highs in the lower deserts to be near 120 degrees.

The state's power grid operator has called on residents to conserve electricity to avoid outages.

The National Weather Service reported 17 daily heat records broken on Sunday, most of them for readings well over 100 degrees.

The aptly named desert town of Thermal, about 25 miles southeast of Palm Springs, topped the list with a high of 119 degrees.

The Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles reached 109 degrees, tying the record set in 2008. Burbank also hit 109 degrees, breaking the old high mark of 104 degrees.

The temperature reached 96 degrees in downtown Los Angeles.