Labor Day forecast: L.A. area to get a grilling over holiday weekend

It’s going to be a hot Labor Day weekend.

Forecasters say temperatures could reach 90 degrees in downtown Los Angeles Friday, with highs in the mid-80s through Sunday.

A low-pressure system moving in from the north, however, will bring a little relief in the form of slightly lower temperatures throughout the region by late Sunday, said Stuart Seto of the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

On Labor Day, temperatures downtown will reach 83 degrees, before cooling to the lower 80s by mid-week, Seto said.

The cooldown at local beaches will be faster, falling from a high of 83 on Friday to 76 on Monday.

The valleys, on the other hand, will see temperatures in the low- to mid-90s throughout the weekend, Seto said. Temperatures in Santa Clarita and Palmdale could hover around 100.

With the fading effects of Hurricane Marie expected to linger through the holiday weekend, lifeguard officials say they plan to maintain increased staffing in preparation for an onslaught of beachgoers.

Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Rick Flores said 435,000 people were on L.A. County’s 72 miles of beaches Tuesday and Wednesday as huge swells produced dangerously rough surf and rip currents.

The combination of a rush of surfers and bodyboarders looking to take advantage of 10- to 20-foot waves and thousands of spectators lining the shore kept lifeguards busy during the peak of the swell. Los Angeles County lifeguards reported performing 115 ocean rescues on Tuesday and another 177 on Wednesday -- the peak day of swelling caused by Marie, which has since been downgraded to a tropical storm.

A high surf advisory remains in affect until 6 p.m. Friday, Seto said.

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