Hot Spots for Warming to the Task of Studying Summer

This summer seemed cooler than usual along the local beaches, but plenty hot in the valleys.

Scientists say our climate might be changing, so in the spirit of scientific inquiry we borrowed a thermocouple from the UCLA physics department and made a survey of local hot spots.

As the temperature approached the high of 94 degrees one day, we gathered these readings around town:

Pizza oven at UCLA north campus dining center: 803.

Runway at Santa Monica Airport: 115.

Surface sand at Venice

Beach: 100.

Sand four inches below

surface: 84.

L.A. County lifeguard’s

back: 98.

Frozen yogurt cone, Baskin-Robbins’ pearls of

praline: 23.

Black dashboard of 1982 BMW parked in sun: 127.

Air inside the car: 112.

Pavement on shoulder of the Marina Freeway: 102.

Playground at 9th Street

Elementary School in downtown Los Angeles: 116.

Water in fountain at Civic Center: 78.

Manhole cover on Main

Street: 111.

Granite steps at Los Angeles City Hall: 108.

LAPD squad car at Parker Center, black section: 125.

White section of LAPD car: 103.

L.A. city firetruck engine compartment: 137.

Hottest temperature recorded at Civic Center, June 26, 1990: 112.

Highest low-for-the-day temperature recorded at Civic Center, Sept. 2, 1955: 83.

Longest period with no rainfall, March 29 to Oct. 8, 1993: 193 days.