A record-breaking spring heat wave baked California for a third day in a row but showed signs of weakening Tuesday as forecasters predicted cooling from sea breezes soon.
Temperatures in downtown Los Angeles hit 95 degrees, which was 21 degrees above normal and just above a record set in 1997 for the date, the National Weather Service said. The heat also set a record one day earlier at 100 degrees.
Dave Goldberg, owner of an air conditioning repair service in Los Angeles, said business was up 400 or 500 percent because of sweltering homeowners.
"Next year, think before it gets hot, you know?" he said. "That's my advice — but nobody takes it."
But forecasters predicted cooling from sea breezes, which were already felt at the coast Tuesday.
"We're at least about 15 degrees cooler from this time yesterday," said Patrick Jones, a Los Angeles County lifeguard captain at Hermosa Beach who also said the crowds at the beach had lessened and along with them, the number of rescues.
Heat records were broken this week from San Francisco to San Diego, where Monday's 98-degree reading at Lindbergh Field shattered a 110-year-old mark and tied the highest temperature on record for the entire month of April, the National Weather Service said.
