Heat wave reaches ‘the tail end’ in Southern California
A heat wave is sweeping the south as the temperature climbs up to the mid 90s for the first time in decades.
The hot weather in Southern California has been getting steadily worse, but in recent weeks it has reached the highest point in the past eight years.
An air conditioner in a home in Riverside, the state’s second largest city, can be heard blowing air through its vents at least 20 times an hour during certain parts of the day. A similar situation unfolded at a McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino County’s unincorporated community of Redlands, where workers called 911 each time they were left without air conditioning.
“We were up to 97 degrees (Friday) and had to open the roof and let the heat out,” said Michael Moore, a food service worker at the McDonald’s. “And we lost customers.”
The heat is striking residents in the Los Angeles metro area. The high today is 94 degrees in Los Angeles and it was only a few degrees cooler out west in Riverside County, with temps hovering around 90 and 94.
“And it’s not just the weather, it’s what the weather brings,” said Jennifer Moore, a mother of two, who was walking to the grocery store this week with her daughter to stock up on milk, eggs, cheese and other foods as the heat wave swept the region.
She said it was especially frustrating to be unable to use the air conditioner in the car.
“I’m not saying that there’s no heat,” said Jennifer, 45, who was visiting from Dallas. “But the air conditioner was very hot. I was just sitting there and my daughter was watching TV and it was really hot in the car, and we weren’t trying to run any errands.”
The heat has been especially troublesome for children because it can be especially tiresome to play outside if it’s 85 degrees and you have to endure the heat and the sun on your face, said Amanda Dickson, a mother of four who was visiting from Texas.
“It was just too hot and the wind and the sun on my face,” she said. “I had to go
