After an unusually cold June weekend in much of southern California, high summer temperatures are expected to return to the region along with the chance of some of the first monsoon activities of the year in deserts and mountains, meteorologists predicted on Sunday.
The increase in heat will become apparent as early as Monday, June 20, as temperatures in many interior areas will rise 10 to 15 degrees more than on Sunday, said Brian Adams, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
In the Los Angeles district, the valley areas will be some of the hardest hit regions on Monday, because the winds in Santa Ana are predicted to warm and dry the air, said David Gomberg, a meteorologist from the NVS. Both the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys will have high temperatures of 90 degrees and above, and areas like Woodland Hills are expected to reach three-digit values, Gomberg said.
“We are entering some of our warmest times (in the years so far) right now,” Gomberg said.
In the interior of the empire, high temperatures are expected to be in the 90s as well, and in some areas it could be around 100 degrees, Adams said.
Daily high temperature records are not expected to be broken this week, both meteorologists said.
Here are the high temperature charts for today, Monday and Tuesday, and the chances of precipitation on Wednesday. No, it’s not a typo! The early monsoon season can cause a downpour or thunderstorm on Wednesday afternoon. # cavk pic.tvitter.com / JgsSgLS9kj
– NVS San Diego (@ NVSSanDiego) June 19, 2022
The increase in temperature will be the result of a high-pressure system located above the Pacific Ocean near the west coast, Adams said. In addition to this system, another high-pressure system near the Gulf of Mexico is expected to begin bringing some of the first monsoon moisture of the year to Southern California, bringing potential for rain and thunderstorms beginning Wednesday afternoon, June 22nd.
“It’s a little early to talk about the storm as far as the strike is concerned,” Adams said. “Precipitation could be relatively rare, but it’s hard to say now.”
Monsoon weather patterns are typical for this time of year, as the traditional monsoon season began in much of the desert in the southwest, meteorologists said. The eastern San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernardino County Mountains are common suspicions of monsoon-like weather due to high altitudes, Gomberg said.
A monsoon-like thunderstorm can lead to lightning strikes from clouds to the ground, heavy flooding and mudslides in areas recently affected by forest fires.
But with different expected total rainfall, storms this week are not expected to have a major impact on the drought that has affected most of the country and the desert in the southwest, Gomberg said.
“We usually see spotted storms and more in the mountains and deserts,” Gomberg said. “We’re not going to get a lot of moisture along the coast or the valleys.”
But while Tuesday, June 21, is the first day of summer, most of the coastal counties of Los Angeles and Orange are expected to stay cold, Gomberg said. The warmest temperatures expected along the coast will be in Long Beach, and will most likely reach a maximum in the mid-80s, he said.
Warm weather in the interior is expected to continue throughout the week, and perhaps even over the weekend, both meteorologists said. In fact, areas in the valleys of Los Angeles County may have widespread high temperatures in the three-digit range on Friday and Saturday, Gomberg said.
Similar warm weather is expected next week, with more chances for monsoons early next week, Adams said.
