A series of scorching, triple-digit temperatures across Southern California led to warnings from public health officials and some schools closing earlier Friday as part of a larger heat wave gripping an area of the southwestern U.S. spanning three states.
More than 31 million people in California, Nevada and Arizona were under an excessive heat warning issued by forecasters as temperatures soared Friday, according to the National Weather Service . In Southern California, the advisory is expected to last until Monday night after forecasters extended an earlier warning that was supposed to end Friday.
Residents of the region faced scorching temperatures well into the triple digits — from 119 degrees in Woodland Hills to 115 degrees in Riverside — as air quality regulators warned of unhealthy breathing conditions tied to the heat and some Los Angeles area schools ended classes early due to the weather and power outages . In Pasadena, rolling outages were issued after the extreme heat caused an equipment failure .