Rain fell across parts of the Southland Tuesday, accompanied by thunder and lightning in some areas, as lingering moisture from former Hurricane Marie brought another round of unsettled weather ahead of a heat wave.
Rain was reported in areas including Burbank, Arcadia, Glendora, LAX and Manhattan Beach Tuesday morning, while thunderstorms produced lightning across portions of Los Angeles County.
The lightning prompted Los Angeles County lifeguards to temporarily close beaches from Cabrillo Beach to Zuma Beach Tuesday morning. Lifeguards advised people near the beaches to seek shelter in a safe location away from the beach until the closures were lifted and warned people not to enter the water when lightning is present.
The National Weather Service issued a special weather statement shortly before 9:30 a.m. Tuesday for a strong thunderstorm moving north through central Los Angeles County. Doppler radar tracked the storm near Whittier at 9:20 a.m., moving north at about 15 mph.
Forecasters warned of frequent lightning, pea-size hail and torrential rainfall that could cause localized flooding.
The wet weather comes as the region braces for a blast of extreme heat, with the NWS upgrading its warnings Tuesday morning for much of Los Angeles County.
A heat advisory will remain in effect until 8 a.m. Wednesday, when an extreme heat warning will take effect and continue until 8 p.m. Thursday.
Temperatures ranging from 92 to 108 degrees are expected in areas covered by the warnings, including downtown Los Angeles, the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys, the Malibu coast, Los Angeles County beaches, the Palos Verdes Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains.
An extreme heat warning will also be in effect from 8 a.m. Wednesday until 8 p.m. Thursday for Catalina Island, where temperatures could range from 88 to 100 degrees. Forecasters said humid conditions will add to the discomfort, with the heat expected to peak Wednesday in most areas.
“With plenty of Marie moisture over the area, there will be threat of showers and thunderstorms for most areas through this afternoon,” the NWS said. “The second concern will be the beginning of the heat. Weak offshore pressure gradients this morning will limit the sea breeze effect and allow temperatures to climb today. The heat generated by this will be exacerbated by the increased humidity due to Marie moisture. So, today will feel quite uncomfortable across the area.”
Overnight lows will offer little relief, remaining in the 70s and even the upper 70s Tuesday and Wednesday night.
A high surf advisory and coastal flood advisory were in effect until 11 p.m. Tuesday for portions of the Los Angeles and Orange county coasts.
Former Hurricane Marie remained well offshore but sent considerable moisture toward the area Sunday, with flooding reported in parking lots in Seal Beach and Zuma Beach, and “flowing into homes and streets” in Long Beach, according to the NWS.
Large breaking waves of 6 to 10 feet occurred at south- and southwest-facing beaches, with waves of 4 to 7 feet at west-facing beaches, along with strong and dangerous rip and longshore currents.
Several rainfall records were broken Sunday in Los Angeles County, including .70 inches in downtown Los Angeles, breaking the previous Sept. 6 record of .17 inches set in 1965.
Other records included .59 inches at LAX, 1.3 inches at Hollywood Burbank Airport, .68 inches at Long Beach Airport and .32 inches in Lancaster.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued an ocean water quality rain advisory for all county beaches until at least 2 p.m. Wednesday. Beach users were cautioned to avoid water contact for at least 72 hours after rainfall.
Officials had already urged inexperienced swimmers to stay out of the water because of dangerous rip currents.