'Very hot or extremely hot': Southern California faces hottest week of the year

Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times on Aug 23, 2026

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As temperature soared and Angelenos wilted on Sunday, forecasters had an unwelcome message: Another week of heat is coming. In fact, this probably will be the hottest week so far in this unusually hot year.

The National Weather Service is warning of a high risk of heat-related illness as a heat wave stretches from Tuesday through Friday. A long-term forecast from the weather service predicted grim news for anyone looking for relief from the heat: "The only real question for the [Wednesday] through [Friday] forecast is: will it be very hot or extremely hot?"

In downtown Los Angeles, where highs hit 96 degrees on Sunday, the weather service forecast calls for highs of 96 to 98 through Friday, and 94 on Saturday.

"For much of L.A., this will likely be the hottest [week] of the year," said Ryan Kittell, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. "It will be warm Monday, then really crank up Tuesday. ... In the valleys, we're looking at anything between 100 and 110." Along the coast, Kittell said, expect "highs between 80 and 90, even in the beach areas."

Whenever temperatures reach this range, the NWS urges people to drink plenty of fluids, stay in air-conditioned rooms when possible, stay out of the sun, check on the welfare of relatives and neighbors, and be alert to the threat of fire.

As usual, some of the greatest heat on Earth will be found at Furnace Creek in Death Valley, where the high was 121 degrees. The NWS projects top temperatures of 119-120 through Friday, with overnight lows in the mid-90s. A 68-year-old traveler from France died Aug. 17 in Death Valley National Park after his car broke down in a remote area on a 116-degree day.

The immediate culprit for these highs is high pressure aloft, which brings a phenomenon meteorologists call "compressional warming." An "extra ingredient" in all of this, Kittell said, "is that the winds are going to shift and become a little more northerly." That, too, brings higher temperatures.

Though this high-temperature cocktail does not include Santa Ana winds, Kittell said, "we do have a history of large fires when it gets this hot."

If nothing else, this weather gives civilians a chance to study up on the NWS hierarchy of hot-weather alarms.

A heat advisory (in place for downtown Los Angeles through 10 a.m. Tuesday) means that some groups may be particularly vulnerable to the heat. An extreme heat watch (in place from 10 a.m. Tuesday through 8 p.m. Friday) suggests we're nearing something even more perilous — an extreme heat warning, which means dangerous heat is happening or about to happen, putting all at risk.

One way or another, Kittell said, these are days to take great care. Also, "we'll probably be filling up the kiddie pool in the backyard."