A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms faced the Southland Thursday amid continued high heat.
The National Weather Service set the chance of measurable precipitation in Los Angeles and Orange counties at 20 percent, saying there is a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms Thursday morning and a slight chance of showers in the afternoon.
Any precipitation Thursday in Southern California will result from moisture drawn from an upper-level low around the Central Coast and monsoonal moisture from Mexico, said NWS meteorologist Curt Kaplan.
Potentially more hazardous than the “very slight chance” of rain, he said, is the “slight” possibility of dry lightning in the mountains this afternoon since lightning can spark wildfires, especially given the dryness of the vegetation as a result of drought.
Amid cloudy skies, today’s temperature highs are expected to range from the 70s along the coast to 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the Antelope Valley. As of this morning, no precipitation is expected Friday.
The NWS forecast cloudy skies Thursday and highs of 74 in San Clemente; 76 in Avalon and at LAX; 82 in Downtown L.A.; 83 in Long Beach; 77 in Laguna Beach; 78 in Newport Beach; 85 in San Gabriel and on Mount Wilson; 86 in Anaheim, Irvine and Mission Viejo; 87 in Burbank; 88 in Pasadena and Fullerton; 91 in Woodland Hills, Saugus and Yorba Linda; 97 in Palmdale; and 99 in Lancaster. Friday’s temperatures will be a few degrees lower in most communities.
—City News Service