Records Fall as Simi Valley and Ojai Wilt

Record-breaking heat hit Ventura County on Saturday and more was expected today, the National Weather Service office in Oxnard reported.

The mercury rose to 98 in Simi Valley, breaking a 1988 daytime record of 96. It was 97 in Ojai, three notches hotter than the old record of 94 that was also set in 1988.

“We had high pressure that compressed down and heated those areas,” said Curt Kaplan, a federal weather specialist.

It was cooler along the coast with Ventura reporting 74 degrees and Oxnard reaching 78. It was 95 in Thousand Oaks but Kaplan didn’t know if that was a record because his office doesn’t track record-breaking heat in that city.

Temperatures in the high 90s were forecast today for the mountains and valleys and it was expected to be in the 70s along the coast. Minor morning fog off Ventura and Oxnard was anticipated.

Kaplan said it should cool down throughout the county by Monday. He added that Saturday’s mini “heat wave” didn’t mark the start of hot summer weather, which traditionally follows the foggy days of so-called “June gloom.”