Southern California is in the grips of a muggy heat wave this week, which could include monsoonal moisture as soon as Wednesday.
"It will be warm and muggy through Friday as remnants of tropical storm Mario move into the area. Temperatures will cool through the period but humidities will be much higher than normal," the National Weather Service said Tuesday night.
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"Rain and thunderstorm chances will begin Wednesday night and continue into at least early Friday. Over the weekend into early next week there is (a) slight chance of showers as additional moisture from the south arrives. The muggy weather will continue into early next week."
Forecasters said confidence is growing that most areas across Southern California will get at least some rain between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday. Amounts are expected to be highly variable, with some areas possibly just getting around a tenth of an inch, and other areas as much as 1-2 inches.
The best chance for any lightning would likely be as the moisture is just arriving Wednesday night into early Thursday, after which the environment may be too moist with too much cloud cover to support thunder development.
"With the upcoming shower/thunderstorm chances, the most hazardous impacts Wed into early Thur will be dry lightning & localized strong winds," according to the NWS' Los Angeles office. "As more moisture arrives Thur, the threat shifts to flooding & potential for debris flows in and around recent burn scars."
Daytime temperatures are expected to drop about 5 degrees from Tuesday's scorcher, which saw highs in the mid-to-upper 90s in the valleys. Overnight lows will be much warmer than normal as well into early next week as the moisture aloft will trap a lot of the heat from the daytime. Overnight lows in the upper 60s and low 70s are expected to be the norm in the inland areas.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass' office said the city was monitoring the forecast, and coordinating with the Emergency Management Department, the fire and police departments, the recreation and parks department and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to ensure all are ready to respond as needed.
Los Angeles also has hundreds of locations open for relief from the heat, including recreation and parks facilities and local library branches. For location and hours of operation, visit laparks.org/reccenter or lapl.org/branches. Angelenos can also call 311 to learn more.
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