Southern California Heat Wave Breaks Records

Beachgoers and sunbathers crowd Huntington Beach, California on July 22, 2016 during a sou
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest on Southern California’s heat wave (all times local):

11:06 a.m.

Temperature records are beginning to fall as a heat wave broils Southern California.

The National Weather Service says downtown Los Angeles broke the July 6 record when it hit 95 degrees (35 Celsius) at 10:15 a.m. Friday, besting the old record of 94 (34.4 Celsius) set in 1992.

The mercury continues to rise and is flirting with the century mark. Downtown is forecast to top out at 106.

Other locations around Southern California reached triple digits at midmorning, and several other records have been broken.

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8:19 a.m.

Forecasters say a Southern California heat wave will be one for the record books.

Most of the normally temperate region is expected to broil in triple digits Friday and Saturday before getting some relief.

The heat is caused by a massive dome of high pressure, which also is expected to spread oppressive conditions into parts of Arizona, Nevada and Utah. Hot weather has stoked wildfires in the U.S. West.

In Southern California, the National Weather Service says numerous places saw temperatures above 80 degrees (27 degrees Celsius) before dawn. At 3 a.m., it was 98 degrees in Gaviota on the Santa Barbara County coast, about 125 miles (201 kilometers) west of Los Angeles.

Officials are urging seniors and the very young to use public facilities designated as “cooling centers.”

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