More records fall as California heat wave continues

In this Aug. 15, 2015 file photo, pedestrians walk past a digital thermometer reading 113 degrees Fahrenheit in the Canoga Park section of Los Angeles. Earth last year wasn’t just the hottest year on record, but it left a century of temperature high marks in its hot dust. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA announced Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016, that 2015 was by far the hottest year in 136 years of record keeping. AP FILE PHOTO

LOS ANGELES — California is still in the grip of a record-setting heat wave.

The National Weather Service says cities up and down the state had record high temperatures for the date Monday.

It was 89 Fahrenheit (31.5 Celsius) in downtown Los Angeles, breaking 1977’s record of 88 F (31 C). In Orange County, Santa Ana hit 94 F (34.5 C), well above the 89 F (31.5 C) recorded in 1977. San Francisco’s 77 F (25 C) was a degree hotter than the high set in 1930.

Records were tied or broken in more than a dozen other places, including Long Beach, Chula Vista, Escondido, Modesto and airports in Oakland and Sacramento.

Forecasters say the heat will continue through Tuesday before a low-pressure system starts cooling things down and bringing a chance of rain. But the heat should build again later this week in Southern California.

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