COOL SUMMER CURRENT HEAT WAVE GENERATES FEW GRIPES AFTER MILD MONTHS.

Byline: DANA BARTHOLOMEW

Staff Writer

WOODLAND HILLS -- It has been a super-cool summer for picnics, convertibles and windows thrown open to the breeze.

But the mildest San Fernando Valley summer in five years hit an afterburner Monday with temperatures rocketing past 100 degrees and health and red-flag fire alerts issued through Wednesday.

"When the large lady yodels and does her songs at the end of August, it'll probably be a cooler-than-normal summer, despite the next couple of days," said Bill Patzert, climatologist for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge.

"For those of us who can't afford to live at the beach, ... Mother Nature has cut us a break."

From June 21 through Sunday, the Pierce College weather station recorded 11 days of 100 degrees or higher temperatures -- the fewest triple-digit days since 2003.

Last year the Valley's hot spot weathered 36 such days in the same period -- including a 22-day, 100-plus streak and an all-time Los Angeles County high of 119.

For local residents, this year the season has seemed more like spring than the dog days of summer.

They've strolled in the sun. Gardened in the heat of the day. And run errands with the windows rolled down.

"I go out more," said Tammy Grandon, 28, of North Hollywood, snacking at the Westfield Promenade. "I don't use my air conditioning as much. Instead, I use my ceiling fan.

"It's still pretty hot, but now it's more tolerable.

Forecasters attribute the summer cool to lower Pacific Ocean temperatures and a marine layer that managed to shield desert heat from Los Angeles inland valleys.

Ocean temperatures, which reached 80 degrees last year, now hover around 65.

"We've had a May gray through August and cooler temperatures in July and June," said Jamie Meier, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Oxnard. "We've had a persistent marine layer."

But the weather suddenly turned hot over the weekend when a high-pressure system over New Mexico and Arizona blew into Southern California.

On Sunday, Burbank broke 90 for the first time this month while Woodland Hills topped 100 for the first time in weeks.

On Monday, temperatures hit 103 in Woodland Hills, Chatsworth and Lancaster. Today, they're expected to reach 107 in the West Valley, then diminish throughout the week.

Los Angeles County health officials issued an alert warning residents to protect themselves from extreme heat, while the NWS issued a red-flag fire warning for the mountains above L.A.

Brush, parched from the driest rain season on record, caused firefighters to be especially vigilant.

"It's getting hotter. It's getting drier. We haven't had any rain. The brush dryness is (worse than) critical," said Inspector Ron Haralson of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

"We're on alert."

Patzert, who had forecast a scalding summer for Los Angeles and the nation, said temperatures could still creep up ahead of the fall Santa Ana winds.

In downtown L.A., June temperatures were nearly 2 degrees below normal, with early-August temperatures nearly 2 1/2 degrees below the norm -- at an average of 73.

"We've been a little oasis compared to the rest of the country," Patzert said. "The marine air conditioner came to our rescue."

His studies have shown that days in Woodland Hills with temperatures of 100 degrees or higher have increased by an average of 14 a year since 1950.

With the exception of last year, sweltering summers peaked in the 1980s and '90s, with 30 days to 45 days of triple-digit temperatures each year -- a maximum of 50 in 1984, he said.

Since the last big El Nino seven years ago, the number of such days has ebbed to around 25.

Despite the current heat wave, residents say the heat this summer has nothing on last year's hell.

"Last summer I had to mostly go out at night, and it was more crowded since everyone was out after work," said Nicole Milliner, 23, of San Pedro, shopping in Woodland Hills.

"Now I'm allowed to be out in the daytime."

Staff Writers Angela Lu and Patrick St. Michel contributed to this report.

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Angel Quinteros enjoys a stream of cool water Monday at the Boys & Girls Club of West Valley. While temperatures as high as 107 degrees are expected today in Woodland Hills, this summer has been mild compared with recent ones.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

(2) Grace Kaluza, 5, of Woodland Hills cools off underwater Monday at the Calabasas Swim and Tennis Club.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

Box:

Summer heat

SOURCE: Pierce College Weather Station

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