1955 — Aug 31–Sep 9–Heatwave/excessive deaths, greater Los Angeles, CA –115- 946

–115-946 Blanchard.*

— 946 AP/Schmid. “Heat’s heavy toll counted in lives. ‘Deadliest weather’.” 7-24-1998.
— 946 Bahrampour. “Most Deadly of the Natural Disasters: The Heat Wave.” NYT. 8-13-2002.
— 946 Bologna, Julie and C.K. Passante. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Extreme Weather. 2006.
— 946 Infoplease.com. “Droughts and Heat Waves.”
— 946 Oechsli and Buechley. “Excess Mortality…Three Los Angeles September Hot Spells.”
— 946 TAMUTimes (Texas A&M University). “Heat Waves Can Be Killers.” 7-18-2012.

* The figure 115 refers to reporting by LA Coroner’s Office of deaths directly attributable to the heat. The larger number is undoubtedly a compilation of the daily “above-the-norm” deaths (compared to the previous year) reported by the Coroner. At the beginning of the heatwave it was dozens higher than the previous year. At the end it was hundreds. Some source (which the four sources we cite copy) has apparently compiled those figures to obtain 946.

Glendale ( 1)
— 1 Aug 31. Bakersfield Californian, CA. “L.A. Has Hottest Day Since 1891.” 9-1-1955, p.1.

Glendora ( 1)
— 1 Sep 8. George Rose, 65. Long Beach Press-Telegram. “9-Day Heat…” 9-9-1955, p. 1.

Los Angeles (107)
— 3 Sep 1. Long Beach Independent, CA. “L.B. Will Sizzle Again Today.” 9-2-1955, p. 3.
–1 Sep 1. Mrs. Trinidad Salgado Landeros, 104.
— 6 Aug 31-Sep 2. San Mateo Times, CA. “South Reports Six Dead…” 9-2-1955, pp. 1, 20.)
— 11 Aug 31-Sep 3. Long Beach Press-Telegram. “Heat Wave Blazes on, 11 Dead.” 9-3-55, 1.
— 38 Aug 31-Sep 4. Long Beach Independent, CA. “38 Die From Heat…” 9-5-1955, p. 1.
— 55 Aug 31-Sep 5. Oxnard Press-Courier. “Inland Still Hot; Oxnard Cools Off.” 9-6-55, 1.
— 81 Aug 31-Sep 7. Corona Daily Independent. “Seventh Day of 100-or-Above…” 9-7-1955, 8.
— 97 Aug 31-Sep 8. Long Beach Press-Telegram. “9-Day Heat Lets Up….” 9-9-1955, 1.
–1 Dominic Iten, 75. Long Beach Press-Telegram. “9-Day Heat…” 9-9-1955, p. 1.
–107 Aug 31-Sep 9. Corona Daily Independent. “Heat Wave Lets up Partly…” 9-9-1955, p. 1.
–115 Humboldt Standard, Eureka, CA. “Smog Continues in Los Angeles.” 9-14-1955, p. 1.

Oxnard ( 1)
— 1 Sep 1. Jose Flores Villa, 55, at Ventura Farms bean processing plant in Oxnard.

San Fernando ( 1)
— 1 Sep 8. Micaela Talavera, 86. Long Beach Press-Telegram. “9-Day Heat…” 9-9-1955, p. 1.

Torrance ( 1)
— 1 Sep 2. Tony G. Rios, 47; prostrated Sep 1 while working at Columbia Steel Co.

Whittier ( 1)
— 1 Sep 8. Willene W. Leckey, 28. Long Beach Press-Telegram. “9-Day Heat…” 9-9-1955, p.1.

Narrative Information

AP/Schmid, 1998: “Washington — Heat waves don’t have the catchy names of hurricanes or the dramatic television footage of tornadoes or earthquakes. But they are the deadliest form of weather. A hurricane that killed 6,000 people in Galveston, Texas, in 1900 is often ranked the nation’s worst natural disaster. But more than 9,500 people died a year later when a heat wave settled in the Midwest. The 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco claimed 452 lives, fewer than Los Angeles-area heat waves that caused 546 deaths in 1939; 946 in 1955, and 580 in 1963, according to a study in the journal Environmental Research.”

Burt and Stroud: “Los Angeles’s worst, most prolonged heat wave happened during late August and early September in 1955. For eight consecutive days (from August 31 to September 7) the temperature reached 100° or higher, peaking at 110° on September 1 at the Civic Center. The following night the temperature fell only to 83° at the Civic Center and 77° at the Oceanside airport location, the city’s warmest night ever.” (Burt and Stroud. Extreme Weather: A Guide & Record Book. 2007, p. 34.)

Oechsli and Buechley: “….Excess mortality must be estimated on the basis to total mortality from all causes since certification of death as due to excess heat is rare….

“Summertime climate in the Los Angeles basin is fairly consistent and uniform most years. The mean maximum temperatures at Los Angeles throughout the summer months are usually in the range of 80° to 85°F. Infrequently…an unusual late summer weather situation develops in which a high remains stationary over Nevada for several days bringing hot dry air to Los Angeles from the Southeast. Maximum temperatures go over 100°F and minimum temperatures may not go below 80°….Three such September hot spells were the basis for choice of time periods to be studied…. [p. 277]

“In 1955, an initial peak of 110° in temperature was followed the next day by total mortality of 385 deaths or 445% of expected. A later rise from 100° to 102° was followed by 1 day with a rise in mortality to 160% of expected…with some fluctuations, there is a regular increase in heat-associated mortality ration with advancing age. Maximum mortality for the 50-54 age group was 307% of expected. For those 85 and over, the peak mortality was 810% of expected. Expected total mortality was 86.4 deaths per day. The excess found in the 9-day hot spell was 946 deaths or about 105 per day….” (p. 278.)

Newspapers

Sep 1: “Los Angeles (AP) – The mercury boiled up to 109 degrees at 12:10 p.m. today, tying the all-time heat record in Los Angeles. It was the hottest day here since the other 109 was recorded 64 years ago, on July 25, 1891. Today was 8 degrees hotter than yesterday and beat the previous Sept. 1 high—in 1952—by 12 degrees. It surpassed the previous peak for any September date — set Sept. 21, 1885 — by a degree. There was one death from heat prostration in nearby Glendale. Comparatively low humidity – 19 per cent — probably kept the toll from being higher.

“A suburban Bellflower poultry rancher reported about 11,000 hens dead of the heat in the past two days.

“Noon readings in nearby communities included: Culver City 108, a record; Van Nuys 110, North Hollywood and Pasadena 104, Pomona 103, Monrovia 106. A Santa Ana newspaper registered an unofficial 114.

“Both Los Angeles and nearby Burbank used more water yesterday than in any 24-hour period in their history.

“The heat and desert winds, which whistled up to 35 miles an hour, ended a six-day smog attack.
Citizens stopped wiping their smog-inflamed eyes and began mopping their brows….

“Some sample temperatures yesterday: Santa Ana 108; Montebello and San Bernardino 104; Pasadena, Riverside, Burbank and San Gabriel 103; Culver City 101. By comparison, Santa Monica on the coast had a “chilly” 89.” (Bakersfield Californian, CA. “L.A. Has Hottest Day Since 1891.” 9-1-1955, pp. 1-2.)

Sep 2: “By United Press. With a sizzling 112 at 1 p.m. today for the second successive day, the temperature may go even higher in Corona later today. The low for the nation was 24 at Fraser, Colo. No relief from the heat is forecast until after Labor day, if then. Chickens in the Corona and Norco area as well as elsewhere are dying. It was 108 in Los Angeles at 12:45 p.m. and the temperature dropped one degree lo 107 at 1 p.m.

“Almost two and a half times the normal death rate was reported in Los Angeles between 6 p.m. Thursday and 6 a.m. today with 60 deaths compared with a normal 25 from natural causes as the mercury reached the highest point in all history at 111 Thursday. There were 19 new eases of heat prostration before 11 am.

“Temperature at noon today was a searing 107 — one degree below the Thursday noon reading. One Los Angeles heat fatality was Mrs. Trinidad Salgado Landeros, 104, a native of Mexico….” (Corona Daily Independent, CA. “Sizzling for 1955 Heat Wave Second Day, New Record is Seen for 1955 Heat Wave.” 9-2-1955, p. 1.)

Sep 2: “Los Angeles (AP) – A blazing 107 degrees at midday today shattered a 72-year-old heat record for the date by 10 degrees. It followed the second hottest night Angelenos have ever sweltered through. Noon readings today included San Pedro 102, Pasadena 105½ Santa Barbara 99 and San Diego 98.

“Hot, smoggy weather continued today over San Mateo county and the bay area, but temperatures were lower than the high levels recorded yesterday in San Mateo county….” (San Mateo Times, CA. “South Reports Six Dead But Smog Lessens.” 9-2-1955, pp. 1 and 20.)

Sep 6: “The worst heat wave in Southern California’s history cooled off in Oxnard over the weekend, but continued to scorch inland county communities with 100-degree temperatures….” (Oxnard Press-Courier, CA. “Inland Still Hot; Oxnard Cools Off.” 9-6-1955, p. 1.)

Sep 7: “….The Los Angeles coroner’s office has reported 379 so-called “natural” deaths. That’s three to four times the normal number for the period. Mortuaries in Los Angeles are jammed. Local morticians say that there have been more deaths in Corona during the time since the heat wave began.” (Corona Daily Independent, CA. “Seventh Day of 100-or-Above Readings Here.” 9-7-1955, p. 8.)
Sources

Associated Press (Randolph E. Schmid). “Heat’s heavy toll counted in lives. ‘Deadliest weather’.” Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, PA, 7-24-1998, p. B3. Accessed 1-3-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=224880002&sterm=heatstroke+death

Bahrampour, Tara. “Most Deadly of the Natural Disasters: The Heat Wave.” New York Times. 8-13-2002. Accessed 12-31-2014 at: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/13/health/most-deadly-of-the-natural-disasters-the-heat-wave.html

Bakersfield Californian, CA. “L.A. Has Hottest Day Since 1891.” 9-1-1955, pp. 1-2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=154755709&sterm=heat+los+angeles and: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=154755710&sterm=heat+los+angeles

Bologna, Julie and Christopher K. Passante. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Extreme Weather. NY: Alpha Books, 2006. Google digitized preview accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=_GfSMKfW0S8C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Burt, Christopher C. and Mark Stroud. Extreme Weather: A Guide & Record Book. W.W. Norton & Company, 2007.

Corona Daily Independent, CA. “Heat Wave Lets up Partly; 93 in Corona Today.” 9-9-1955, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=174878126&sterm=heat+wave

Corona Daily Independent, CA. “Seventh Day of 100-or-Above Readings Here.” 9-7-1955, p. 8.
At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=174878113&sterm=heat+wave+dead

Corona Daily Independent, CA. “Sizzling for 1955 Heat Wave Second Day, New Record is Seen for 1955 Heat Wave.” 9-2-1955, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=174878090&sterm

Humboldt Standard, Eureka, CA. “Smog Continues in Los Angeles.” 9-14-1955, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=50075842&sterm=heat+wave+dead

Infoplease.com. “Droughts and Heat Waves.” Accessed 11-25-2012 at: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0886145.html

Long Beach Independent, CA. “38 Die From Heat; Cooler Here Today. High of 98 in L.B.; 101 Top in L.A.” 9-5-1955, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=45073813&sterm

Long Beach Independent, CA. “L.B. Will Sizzle Again Today.” 9-2-1955, p. 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=45073646&sterm=heat+los+angeles

Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA. “9-Day Heat Lets Up as Smog Closes in.” 9-9-1955, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=45753900&sterm=heat+wave

Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA. “Heat Wave Blazes on, 11 Dead.” 9-3-1955, pp. 1 and 3. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=45753675&sterm=heat+los+angeles

Oechsli, Frank Wm. and Robert Wm. Buechley. “Excess Mortality Associated with Three Los Angeles September Hot Spells.” Environmental Research, Vol. 3, 1970, pp. 277-284. Accessed 1-18-2017 at: https://booksc.bypassed.today/book/15891045

Oxnard Press-Courier, CA. “Heat in Oxnard Kills Bean Plant Worker.” 9-2-1955, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=81593980&sterm=heat+los+angeles

Oxnard Press-Courier, CA. “Inland Still Hot; Oxnard Cools Off.” 9-6-1955, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=81593992&sterm=heat+wave+dead

San Mateo Times, CA. “Mercury Up To 95 Degrees (Continued from Page 1).” 9-1-1955, p. 2. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=48125287&sterm=heat+los+angeles

San Mateo Times, CA. “South Reports Six Dead But Smog Lessens.” 9-2-1955, pp. 1 and 20. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=48125323&sterm=heat+los+angeles

TAMUTimes (Texas A&M University). “Heat Waves Can Be Killers.” 7-18-2012. Accessed 11-25-2012 at: http://tamutimes.tamu.edu/2012/07/18/heat-waves-can-be-killers/

Texas A&M University, Atmospheric Sciences. “Killer Heat Waves.” Accessed 12-31-2014 at: http://atmo.tamu.edu/weather-and-climate/weather-whys/604-killer-heat-waves