Southern California Heat Warnings Through Thursday as Records Fall
The U.S. National Weather Service has Extreme Heat Warnings in place for parts of southern California, including Los Angeles, through Thursday. As of Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, the warnings covered an early-October heat episode that had already broken daily records across the region. The Guardian
The driver is a persistent area of high pressure expected to remain over southern California this week. Like a lid, it traps hot air and holds temperatures up. The setup is bringing hazardous hot weather and increased fire risk, with highs in the high 30s Celsius. The Guardian
Coverage is broad. The NWS Los Angeles office has Extreme Heat Warnings through Thursday for the coast and valleys of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. The Los Angeles/Oxnard office has parallel warnings through Thursday for the Santa Barbara County South Coast and mountains, with Heat Advisories, a step below warnings, through Thursday for the rest of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties and added Heat Advisories for the Central Coast from Wednesday morning through Thursday.
For the Los Angeles forecast point at 34.05N 118.25W, the NWS listed an Extreme Heat Warning until 08:00 PM PDT on October 8, with a high near 101 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday and an overnight low near 78. NWS Forecast A bulletin dated Oct. 4 said an Extreme Heat Warning remains in effect until 8 PM PDT Thursday with dangerously hot conditions and highs in the upper 90s.
The office rated the event as Moderate to Extreme Heat Risk, its scale for heat danger. Temperatures for many locations across the Los Angeles/Oxnard region were expected to remain within several degrees of their daily records through midweek.
Records have already fallen on consecutive days. On Friday, daily records were set or tied in downtown Los Angeles, Long Beach, Burbank, Anaheim, Santa Ana and Newport Beach. CBS News Burbank broke its daily record high with 101, Camarillo broke its daily record high with 99, and NWS Oxnard broke its daily record high with 99. Burbank, a suburb north of Los Angeles, recorded 39C on Saturday. The Guardian
Temperatures were running 15-20 degrees above average for much of the region during the early October western heat wave. weather.com The October temperature record for the Los Angeles region was set in 1987. The Guardian
In practical terms, duration and warm nights shape exposure this week. A multi-day warning period through Thursday, combined with highs near 101 and lows near 78 in Los Angeles, leaves limited nighttime relief in the warmest zones. Warnings for coastal areas alongside valleys and the Santa Barbara South Coast show heat extending beyond inland locations that typically run hottest.
The broader context here is persistence near record thresholds rather than a single peak. With many sites expected to stay within a few degrees of daily records through midweek, small shifts will decide whether more records fall. The practical questions are whether Thursday marks a clean end to warnings and advisories, and whether additional daily records fall before the high pressure weakens.
