HEAT SPRINGS ETERNAL A.V. RECORDS MELT UNDER EARLY HOT SPELL.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

PALMDALE - A record heat wave will give Antelope Valley summerlike weather a few days longer, the National Weather Service said.

Temperatures in Lancaster and Palmdale hit 96 on Monday, breaking the Lancaster record of 93 for the date set in 1954, the National Weather Service said.

Midafternoon temperatures Tuesday reached an unofficial 97 degrees in Lancaster, breaking the 95-degree record set in 1960, and 96 in Palmdale.

Statewide, hot temperatures contributed to a second day of rolling blackouts. The rolling blackouts hit scattered areas of the northern and eastern Antelope Valley starting at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday.

The hot-weather culprit was a strong high pressure system, said National Weather Service specialist Stuart Seto.

``With high pressure, you've got to think of it as sinking air: As air sinks, it warms,'' Seto said. ``Usually, high pressure means good weather - clear skies. Especially after a day or two, clear skies really heat things up, because the ground absorbs the heat.''

The Antelope Valley's temperature was predicted to hit 96 again today, before dipping to 93 on Thursday.

Weekend temperatures will be cooler but still warm, as the high pressure system weakens and moves out, Seto said. The weakening system will let Southern California's marine layer move inland, bringing afternoon breezes and high clouds.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Littlerock Dam Reservoir offers a place to cool off from the record-breaking temperatures in the Antelope Valley.

(2 -- color) Palmdale kids, from left, Victor Mayorga, 9, Brittany Mojica, 9, Cyrena Figueroa, 1, and Kaisey Watson, 4, cool off in the Littlerock Dam Reservoir.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer