Cold snap brings potential record low temperatures across Southern California

Southern Californians across the region awoke to record-breaking low temperatures on Thursday as a winter cold snap continued in the region.

“We certainly had an unusually cold morning to start the day,” said Brian Adams, weather forecaster with the San Diego National Weather Service.

From northern Los Angeles County to San Diego, cities hit what could be historic low temperatures on Thursday, weather experts said, though records will need to be triple-checked before they’re official. The cold snap comes as residents grapple with unusually high heating bills due to a rise in gas prices.

In Los Angeles County, Lancaster and Palmdale may have broken records for low temperatures Thursday morning, with early readings in Lancaster showing 19 degrees early Thursday — about two degrees below the current record for the day, said Mike Wofford, a weather forecaster with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. Palmdale may have only reached 21 degrees, very close to the previous record of 20 degrees, Wofford said.

In Orange County, Fullerton appears to have hit a new low of 39 degrees early Thursday, likely breaking that day’s previous record of 40 degrees set in 2012, Adams said.

Oceanside and Ramona in San Diego County also likely set new record lows, hitting 32 and 21 degrees early Thursday, Adams said. Poway may have set an earlier record at 29 degrees, he said.

Thursday’s records will be confirmed and made official later in the day.

But Fullerton and San Jacinto both hit earlier low temperatures on Wednesday, Adams said, with Fullerton falling to 39 degrees — tying the 2009 record — and San Jacinto falling to 31 degrees, tying the 1989 record.

In the mountains, Thursday morning also brought some “wind chill readings in the single digits,” Adams said.

Wind chill in Big Bear has seen temperatures drop to what feels like 5 degrees, Adams said. Lake Arrowhead and Running Springs were also below 10 degrees, with wind chill hovering around 7 and 9 degrees, respectively.

“This will definitely be the coldest morning for the rest of the week,” Adams said. In the next few days, the region will warm up, he said, but “only in a relative sense.”

He said the next few mornings would continue to warm by about 3 to 5 degrees in some spots, but nothing drastic.