By Hector Gonzalez
Staff Writer

June 9, 2015 -- Inland heat, local schools on summer vacation, tourists unfamiliar with the beach terrain – add in riptides from the residue of tropical storm Blanca – and this could be a busy week for lifeguards in Santa Monica and other local beaches, officials said Monday.

For beach rescuers, all hands will be on deck to deal with an anticipated swell in crowd sizes as inland temperatures top 90 and forecasters warn of dangerous surf along the coast, said Capt. Tim McNulty of the Lifeguard Division of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

“We’re pretty much trying to have every available lifeguard on duty,” said McNulty. “We’ve got the rip current risk, that’s true, but school's out, summer’s here, and it’s nice and warm. We’ll be getting the bigger crowds. So yeah, we’re trying to get as much manpower out there as we can.”

Strong rip currents, beach temperatures in the 70s and ocean waters at around 64 degrees were expected to last at least through Wednesday, said the National Weather Service (NWS). The rip current risk along county beaches will remain “high” through Tuesday, with swells topping out at 5 feet, the agency said.

“Very strong currents and dangerous swimming conditions are expected,” the NWS said.

Much of the increased riptide risk is due to “slightly elevated swells” linked to Blanca, said NWS meteorologist Kathy Hoxsie.

“We put the riptide risk out there for the entire county, but there will be some locations that will be more susceptible than others,” she said.

Beach conditions this week are similar to last summer, when lifeguards made a record number of rescues, said McNulty.

Last year, county lifeguards made 14,331 ocean rescues between January 1 and November 3, breaking a previous record set in 1997. It was the largest number of rescues in the history of the Lifeguard Division, according to the agency’s website.

McNulty said “a combination” of factors, including crowds, weather conditions, ocean temperatures, rip currents and the condition of the sea floor play into officials’ decision to call in more lifeguards.

“All those factors combined led to the biggest number of rescues in history last summer,” he said.

Although Blanca will increase the threat of rip currents, forecasters have downgraded the system from a hurricane to a tropical storm.

On Monday, remnants of Blanca were still heading north into Southern California from Mexico, but the system was expected to bring less than one-tenth-of-an-inch of rain to L.A.’s coasts and up to a half-inch near the mountains.

Overall the probability of showers is low, with any chance of rain ending by Tuesday night, said the NWS.

On Monday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released new figures showing that California is still experiencing its warmest year on record to date.

While a drought continues to parch the state, May was the wettest month ever recorded in the United States, NOAA reported. On average, 4.3 inches of rain fell in the United States, beating a 2009 record of 4.2 inches, the agency reported.

Accuweather.com attributed “drought-busting” rain last month in Texas to an El Nino pattern, a global climate phenomenon usually associated with wetter years. If an El Nino pattern strengthens later this year, California “could be next up for much-needed rain during the winter of 2015-16,” said accuweather.com.

California water officials have said it would take 75 inches of rain over the northern Sierra Nevada -- which supplies much of the state’s water -- to end the drought and restock groundwater supplies.

A strong El Nino, however, has the possibility of eliminating the state’s drought, said accuweather.com. But Californians must still survive this summer, said the weather website.

“No significant drought relief is expected for California through the summer,” said accuweather.com.