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Cities Baking in Triple Digits

Times Staff Writer

Triple-digit temperatures broke records for a second straight day Tuesday, but the thermometer was expected to drop back to normal today.

In Ventura County, Thousand Oaks reported the hottest temperature of the day at 102 degrees. Although it was unclear whether that was a record, four local cities did report new highs.

Simi Valley and Ojai both hit 101 degrees.

Along the coast, things were not much cooler, with Oxnard reporting a temperature of 95 and Ventura 92, both breaking records more than three decades old.

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Meanwhile, Los Angeles roasted at 102 degrees, breaking the record for the date, 94, set in 1881. Other records were broken Tuesday in cities including Woodland Hills, which reached 103, and Burbank, 100. Readings in Long Beach and Pasadena reached 99, also setting records.

“The heat is intense,” said Bruce Rockwell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “But it’s been worse,” and heat spells are “actually quite common this time of year,” he said.

In Orange County, three cities had record-setting temperatures Tuesday: Santa Ana and Yorba Linda, which both hit 100, and Laguna Beach, where the temperature reached 87.

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“We had some of the guests coming up and asking me the temperature today,” said Joe Symes, a front desk clerk at the Hotel Laguna.

“But what’s funny is that a lot of guests here just assume that we get this weather 365 days out of the year.”

Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Paso Robles and Cuyama also posted record highs.

San Francisco hit 86, to tie a 1921 record.

The high-pressure system that has baked much of Southern California this week is expected to be replaced today with ocean breezes, said Stuart Seto, a National Weather Service specialist.

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That means temperatures will drop 10 to 20 degrees in some communities. In downtown L.A. today, for instance, temperatures should fall to the 80s.

“The weather will be back to normal,” Seto said. “It will feel more like spring.”

But by the weekend, temperatures will begin to rise again.

“Like L.A. traffic,” Seto said, “the weather system keeps moving.”

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Times staff writer Lynne Barnes contributed to this report.

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