SoCal heat wave shatters multiple records, and the misery is far from over

Southern California has seen some toasty Octobers, but this year's start to the fall season has been marked by a persistent heat wave that's shattered records and ushered in an unprecedented streak of 100-degree days. The extreme heat is driven by a persistent high pressure ridge that has parked over the region causing sinking warming air with very little overnight relief. That is paired with down-sloping winds and uncharacteristically warm ocean temperatures — driven in part by an El Niño that has reduced Southern California's sea breeze, frequently known as its natural air conditioning. "We're going on Day 4 of this really significant heat wave and we still have several more days of heat," said Rose Schoenfeld, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. "We do have heat events in October, but this streak of 100-plus days is definitely starting to become pretty notable."