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Hot Weather: Heat wave not taking a holidayA hot sun shines over power lines Thursday, the third
day of a heat wave that's expected to reach its peak over the Labor Day
weekend. Residents are urged to avoid outdoor activities from morning
through early evening, wear loose-fitting clothes and drink plenty of
water to avoid ill effects of the heat, the National
Weather Service said. By Michael Muskal, found at Los Angeles Times , August 31, 2007 Temperatures soared toward triple digits today, prompting warnings about excessive heat across Los Angeles, Ventura and Orange counties. Humidity turned even those areas where temperatures stayed below the century mark into a drippy mess. With millions of people gearing up for the Labor Day weekend, traffic was moving well except near the border, where a protest by several hundred members of a Mexican teachers union closed the San Ysidro crossing between Mexico and the United States. Southbound traffic on interstates 5 and 805 was diverted to other freeways from 8:30 a.m. until noon, when the teachers dispersed after a peaceful demonstration calling for better wages and benefits. Meanwhile, record heat threatened to turn the holiday weekend, typically summer's swan song, from an idyll into an ordeal. Today is the fourth day of the hottest stretch of the year to date. Triple-digit temperatures are expected in many parts of the region, including the western San Fernando Valley, which could see 112 degrees. High humidity could make it feel like 112 degrees elsewhere. The National Weather Service predicted high temperatures in the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Heat advisories will be in effect in L.A. and Orange counties throughout the day. The usual precautions to drink plenty of fluids, stay in the shade and wear light clothing were issued. There were also warnings to take special care with animals. Power consumption, which hit record levels Thursday in some areas, was expected to be heavy today as well. State energy officials said they were prepared to meet the demand, but they asked people to conserve wherever possible. In Laguna Beach, about 11,000 residents had their power cut briefly after a car knocked down a utility pole on Laguna Canyon Road. The outage started about 12:45 p.m., and Southern California Edison restored service within a half-hour. "The first thing we think about on days like this is that an outage must be due to high demand, but in this case it was not," Edison spokesman Steve Conroy said. "We were able to make adjustments in the field to reroute service around that area." The accident also caused a small fire, which Laguna Beach firefighters quickly extinguished. Laguna Canyon Road, a favorite route to the beach, was closed until crews could remove the power lines. The Auto Club of Southern California has estimated that about 2.5 million people in the Los Angeles area are expected to drive or fly over the weekend, an increase of about 1% over last year. Falling gasoline prices may make the traveling easier. The Auto Club said the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $2.73 in Los Angeles County, the 15th price drop in the last 16 weeks. It's about 5.5 cents cheaper a gallon than last week and the lowest price since Feb. 23. The record high was about $3.50 at the beginning of May. At Los Angeles International Airport, officials estimated that 19.6 million people would have used the facility since Memorial Day, an increase of about 2.8%. About 820,000 passengers traveled through LAX over the four-day Memorial Day weekend. A slightly lower number is expected this weekend. michael.muskal@latimes.com |
Weather predictions or not? Most fail to materialise BBC weather UK New Barkfly and other insect species arrives in UK due to hot weather. more BBC weather Weather TAGS
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