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A strong storm cell dumped a lot of rain in a very short amount of time in the Banning and Beaumont areas Thursday afternoon. Intersections in Banning flooded and drivers slowed down. There was also lightning and thunder. Those without umbrellas didn't even have a chance to stay dry.
Banning resident Eric Cabrera's clothes and shoes were soaked. He said the weather changed from very hot to very wet in a hurry.
"I was at the park. It was really hot. I was sweating and it just started pouring rain," said Cabrera.
For anyone not in the path of the rain, it was just plain hot. Some of the hottest spots were in the western San Fernando Valley. By 1 p.m., temperatures hit the century mark in many areas.
Conditions were scorching in Santa Clarita, where sales were expected to jump up at Iced Dreams, a homemade ice cream parlor.
Snacking on cool treats is one way to stave off the heat. Others in Santa Clarita who didn't want to indulge got their workout in early at Hardcore Fitness Boot Camp. They were out exercising before sunrise in order to beat the heat.
Gym owner Larry Nolan said people should use common sense when doing physical activity outdoors when it's hot and humid.
Nolan said although the key is to keep hydrated, many don't replenish their electrolytes.
"A lot of people, especially in California, are good with their diets and they think that salt is bad. In the heat, it's definitely not something you want to avoid. You have to have enough sodium so that you can stay hydrated so that water doesn't pass through you and your body's not able to utilize it," Nolan said.
"If you sweat it out and it passes right through you, you can be drinking a gallon of water and still end up dehydrated," he added.
A heat advisory was in effect in Orange County with hotter than normal temperatures. Many people headed to the beaches to cool off.
The hot conditions are expected to last through the weekend.
Residents in Laguna Woods are concerned about losing their air conditioner on Saturday when Southern California Edison has a planned power outage from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Edison says about 1,500 residents at Laguna Woods were notified a while ago about the outage, which will allow crews to do maintenance on the electrical system in the area.
"It's too hot for the power to be off that long," said Gary Shriver of Laguna Woods.
Laguna Woods Village says all of its club houses are air conditioned, so residents affected by the outage can stay cool.
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