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Southern California was baking under an unusually intense October heat wave on Friday, with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees in the Inland Empire and inland Orange County.
As of 1 p.m., Woodland Hills had already hit 102 degrees, Santa Ana was 101; Riverside and downtown L.A. were hovering at 99 degrees.
"This is pretty extreme. We are looking at temperatures that are 20 degrees above where they should be for this time of year and that's pretty unusual," Mark Moede, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told KPCC.
Moede said he didn't expect any records to fall, but the heat will linger.
A weather station near Camarillo Airport recorded 108 degrees, reports the L.A. Times. These scorching temps broke an all-time high of 103 recorded on Sept. 23, 1978.
Saturday was expected to be only a couple of degrees cooler and still above average. The real cooling trend won't come to the area until at least Wednesday, Moede said.
A heat advisory issued by the weather service warned of heightened fire danger, though Moede said the rainfall from Sunday and Monday would help prevent any real threats because of the high fuel moisture.
Anyone seeking a little relief from the heat by heading to the ocean is being warned of strong rip currents.
Headed to the beach to escape the extreme heat? Be careful.
Moede said there have been reports of 6-foot to 8-foot waves in Huntington Beach and 4-foot to 6-foot waves in Newport Beach. Bigger waves means stronger rip currents.
Compounding safety risks, several beaches were closed Friday because of a shark siting.
The Huntington Beach Fire Department said a surfer spotted a 10-foot shark about 60 yards from Sunset Beach Thursday evening, according to NBC4.
Portions of Surfside, Sunset, and Bolsa Chica beaches were expected to remained closed Friday.