Heat temperatures continued to melt away Sunday in Southern California amid a heat wave that is scorching the southwestern United States.
In the San Gabriel Valley, runners at the fifth annual Pasadena Marathon were being advised to drink plenty of water. Organizers had iced towels at the support stations for the race.
Race director Israel Estrada said lots of extra water had been purchased on Saturday. The projected high for Pasadena on Sunday is 104 degrees, but that peak will come well after the runners have completed their race.
Nonetheless, at least 12 runners experienced heat-related illnesses, according to Pasadena Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian. She said six people were transported to hospitals in serious condition during the race, which had in May seen its longest event reduced to a 13.1-mile half-marathon.
Some runners seemed to show the effects of the heat when they slowed down at the end of the race, according to Derderian, stopping 100 feet from the finish line. She described cooling buses at the finish line as "full to capacity.''
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Meanwhile, a home Dodger game against the Phillies was scheduled for 1:10 p.m., amid the heat of the day.
"It's going to be hotter today than yesterday," NBC4's Carl Bell said in his Today in LA forecast on Sunday morning. "It’s going to get worse before it gets better."
The National Weather Service said valley and desert regions could experience their hottest day of the heat wave on Sunday.
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An excessive heat warning is in effect for much of the region through next week, and some inland valleys could see temperatures of 112 Sunday.
Several Southern California cities saw record high temperatures on Saturday, and more records were expected to shatter on Sunday.
- Riverside 105, up from 104 in 1996
- Palm Springs: 122, up from 121 in 1994
- Elsinore: 111, up from 110 in 1972
- Idyllwild: 98, up from 96 in 1972
- Campo: 106, up from 103 in 1972
- Indio: 121, up from 117 in 1994
The forecast for Death Valley in California called for 128 degrees Saturday, but it was 3 degrees shy of that, according to unofficial reports from the National Weather Service. Death Valley's record high of 134 degrees, set a century ago, stands as the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth.
In Nevada, the heat wave contributed to the death of one man and the hospitalization of another man in serious condition.
Las Vegas fire and rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski said paramedics responded to a home without air conditioning and found an elderly man dead. He said while the man had medical issues, paramedics thought the heat worsened his condition.
The blistering heat apparently contributed to the death of a man in Nevada whose Paramedics said another elderly man suffered a heat stroke when the air conditioner in his car went out for several hours while he was on a long road trip. He stopped in Las Vegas, called 911 and was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
