Hottest October in city history

Thanks to an 11-day heat streak, October 2008 has become the toastiest month in city history.

Climatologists had expected things to cool down during the last few days of the month. However, because of the heat-trapping effects of urban development and global warming, L.A. has been getting warmer in the last century.

“The California climate system . . . is on steroids,” said William Patzert, a climatologist for Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge.

Downtown L.A. had to hit a high of about 73 degrees Friday for the record to be broken. The previous hottest October was in 1965, when the average daytime high for the month was 84.5. Entering this week, the average had been 84.3 and the National Weather Service was forecasting cooler days.

But instead, it just got hotter: 94 degrees on Tuesday, 90 on Wednesday and 84 on Thursday. By 11:47 a.m. Friday, downtown L.A. had recorded a temperature of 81 degrees, according to the weather service.

And that was more than enough to claim the crown as the hottest October since 1877, Patzert said.