Alaskan Front Will Push Aside Southland Heat

The heat wave won’t break today, but at least it will bend a little.

And by the weekend, temperatures should finally be back to normal, perhaps even a little cooler.

Rick Dittmann, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., said a trough of low-pressure air from the Gulf of Alaska should move over California during the next couple of days, shoving out the immense dome of high pressure that has kept the Southland roasting for almost two weeks.

The high temperature at the Los Angeles Civic Center should be about 88 degrees today, down from highs of 94 on Tuesday and Wednesday. By Friday, the downtown high should be in the mid-80s, and by Saturday, the top reading should be about 80, roughly 4 degrees below normal for this time of year.

The cooling trend will also be felt in the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys, where readings as high as 108 were recorded earlier this week. The thermometers there shouldn’t get much above 100 today, followed by top readings in the upper 90s on Friday and the mid- to low 90s on Saturday.

Temperatures will be cooler in the mountains, too, with resort level highs between 70 and 85 over the weekend.

Things should stay about the same early next week, with temperatures remaining at, or slightly below, normal.

“The marine air will start moving inland again,” Dittmann said. “That means a little fog and low clouds along the coast. It should be pretty nice.”

And Southern Californians may start reaching for a blanket or two at night, the forecaster said. Overnight lows should dip into the mid-60s by Friday and the low 60s by the weekend.

Wednesday’s Civic Center high of 94--12 degrees below the 106-degree record for the date, set in 1885--followed an overnight low of 73. Relative humidity ranged between a high of 79% and a low of 39%.