Tropical Storm Kay breaks heat and rain records across Southern California
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LOS ANGELES — Tropical Storm Kay pounded Southern California with rain and strong winds Friday afternoon bringing with it record-breaking heat and humidity in some areas.
The National Weather Service is monitoring the storm and the potential for further flooding and landslides in and around Los Angeles County. So far, there has been no damage to structures because of the storm.
The storm arrived near the ocean just before midday and it is moving east at about 10 miles an hour, according to the weather service.
Kay is expected to weaken over the next couple of days, but forecasters say the threat of damaging winds from the storm remains.
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the coastal areas of Los Angeles and Orange counties through Friday night.
“Kay weakened and is becoming less intense, but with this storm, we are forecasting some potential for damaging winds and coastal flooding,” said Capt. Mike Hove, a spokesman for the weather service.
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning from the Newport Beach area to San Clemente Beach for much of Wednesday night.
The storm was forecast to weaken over the weekend, the weather service said, but forecasters cautioned that residents should pay close attention to the weather and make sure to protect their homes from coastal flooding.
The forecast models have changed in two different ways as the storm moves through Southern California, the weather service said. Forecasters are tracking a potential for the storm to strengthen again and become a strong tropical storm with more rain and thunderstorms.
Storms this size are extremely rare and no one knows exactly why they happen.
But one theory is that a warm frontal boundary is sitting over Southern California on Monday, keeping ocean moisture near the coast dry.
If there’s a frontal boundary in place, rainstorms from the area don’t always have to travel anywhere near the coastline, Hove said.
“We look at where the frontal boundary is located on
