PRESSURE COOKER WEATHER DNC DELEGATES MAY MELT IN L.A.'S HEAT.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

Democratic National Convention delegates from the unseasonably cool East Coast may be in for a sweltering surprise: Temperatures are expected to top 100 degrees for the next few days, weather officials said.

Those fortunate to land rooms at the beach can expect daytime highs in the 70s, according to the National Weather Service. Those staying downtown can expect temperatures roughly 20 degrees hotter.

But in the San Fernando and other inland valleys, where highs this month have hovered near the century mark, temperatures through Tuesday are expected to hit upwards of 105 degrees.

``It'll be warmer than usual, but I don't think it'll be record heat,'' said James Murakami, a meteorologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. ``This is August. It's always hot.''

No records were set in the Greater San Fernando Valley on Friday, but Long Beach tied a record 97 degrees set in 1994.

Highs across Los Angeles on Friday were 92 downtown, 103 in Northridge, 106 in Chatsworth, 96 in Glendale and 100 in Burbank.

Record temperatures for the San Fernando Valley in August range from 105 to 116 degrees.

In some areas of the Valley, average temperatures so far this summer have been slightly higher than during the same period last year, but it varied from month to month and area to area, officials said.

Downtown temperatures averaged 85 so far this month, as compared with 81.1 last year, while temperatures in Northridge averaged 91 last year and 95 this year. In Canoga Park, the average for August has been 95.4, compared with 91 last year.

Meteorologist Bill Hoffer at the National Weather Service in Oxnard credited the heat to a high-pressure dome that each summer lurks above L.A. like a giant salad bowl turned upside down.

The 30,000-foot-high dome acts as a solar magnifying glass across the Southwest, he said, and the heat is exacerbated by miles of concrete, autos, businesses, factories and ``maybe the heat of more rabbits being chased by foxes out in the desert.''

Desert winds from the northeast have added to local discomfort this week.

Contrast the searing L.A. heat with average temperatures across the Northeast, which last month recorded the third coolest July since 1895. Easterners also are experiencing cooler-than-normal temperatures this month.

This weekend, low pressure stalled near the Atlantic coast will bring cool and showery weather to the entire Northeast seaboard.

In Los Angeles, delegates who arrive with jackets stuffed into their aircraft overheads can loosen their ties and strip down to their essentials.

``We're having summer,'' said NWS weather information specialist Bonnie Bartling. ``We should enjoy it.''