Los Angeles smashes temperature record amid dangerous heat wave

• The temperature in Woodland Hills, California, reached 121 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
• That is the highest temperature officially recorded in Los Angeles County since recordkeeping began in 1949.
• The previous record was 119 degrees Fahrenheit, recorded in July 2006.

Southern California has never been this hot, according to the National Weather Service, which said Los Angeles County saw record-high temperatures on Sunday.

Last week, the agency warned that Southern California was about to be hit with a deadly heat wave that would bring "rare, dangerous, and very possibly fatal" temperatures.

As it turned out, the city of Woodland Hills reached a high of 121 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 49 degrees Celsius, on Sunday, which the agency said was the highest temperature ever recorded at an official site in Los Angeles County. The agency said the previous record was 119 degrees Fahrenheit, set in July 2006.

For comparison, the hottest temperature recorded on Earth in the past three years was 128 F, set this past July north of Los Angeles in Death Valley.

Temperatures weren't much cooler farther north, with the 117 F recorded in Paso Robles tying the all-time record for San Luis Obispo County.

The record-breaking heat is being accompanied by low humidity and high winds. That might make it a little more bearable, but it also increases the risk of a blaze, with the NWS issuing a Fire Weather Watch from Sunday through Tuesday for Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

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