Temperatures Climb in Pacific Palisades During September Heatwave

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Though fall is just a few weeks away, Pacific Palisades saw its highest temperatures of the year so far during a recent heatwave, which began on Wednesday, September 4, and extended to Tuesday, September 10.

“The Huntington Palisades saw a high temperature reading on September 6 of 95 degrees,” reported Craig Weston, who tracks weather from the neighborhood. “On September 9, some areas of the [Alphabet] Streets saw 98-degree readings.”

These readings surpassed the Palisades’ previous high for the year, which was 82 degrees on January 28. Since 2014, the highest temperature recorded in the Palisades by Weston was 107 degrees on July 6, 2018.

On September 6, areas of Northridge, North Hills and Sherman Oaks saw temperature readings of 117 degrees.

“Downtown Los Angeles recorded a temperature of 112 degrees, which marks only the third time since July 1, 1877, that a high of 112 or more has been reached there,” Weston explained. “Long Beach Airport tied a record of four consecutive days of high temperatures of 100 degrees or hotter.”

Los Angeles County Health Officers issued excessive heat warnings, including for West and East Santa Monica Mountains, for September 4 through September 10 at 8 p.m. Los Angeles County Beaches and Malibu Coast had excessive heat warnings in place from September 5 to September 9.

A number of power outages were reported by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, with 164 customers in the Palisades affected as the Palisadian-Post went to print Tuesday evening.

“High pressure over the California desert region, coupled with an offshore flow to keep the marine layer at bay, is creating conditions for temperatures to be as much as 25 degrees above normal,” Weston wrote at the start of the heatwave.

Sports across Southern California were rescheduled or moved to the early morning hours or later in the evening due to the high temperatures, Weston explained, including the Charter Bowl between Palisades Charter High School and Granada Hills, which was moved to Stadium by the Sea from the San Fernando Valley for the cooler temperatures.

“As the week progresses, the heatwave should dissipate greatly,” Weston wrote.

As the Post went to print, highs for the rest of the week were expected to be in the mid 70s, reaching 74 degrees on Thursday, September 12; 75 on Friday, September 13; 75 on Saturday, September 14; and 74 on Sunday, September 15.