Record for Valentine’s : Winter? 90 Degrees? In the County? Yessir

When Richard Smith sauntered outside Santa Ana Fire Station No. 5 on Walnut Street to record Thursday’s high temperature, he was “just sick” at the mercury reading of 90 degrees at 3:34 p.m.

“All during my vacation, it was 60 to 65 degrees,” the emergency services dispatcher lamented on his first day back from 12 days of leisure.

And so it was that Southern California’s midwinter hot spell racked up another record-breaking afternoon temperature Thursday, with Santa Ana sharing honors with Los Angeles and San Gabriel as the hottest spots in the nation.

Topped 1955 Mark

The peak reading at Fire Station No. 5 set a record for the day, topping the old Valentine’s Day mark of 85 degrees set in 1955.

The Los Angeles Civic Center set a similar record for the day, replacing the old mark of 89 degrees for Feb. 14 set in 1943.

Tustin was not far behind, with a high of 89 degrees recorded at the Marine Corps Air Station. The unseasonably warm weather was giving a boost to crops of Valencia oranges, asparagus and strawberries on the 11,000-acre Tustin-Irvine Ranch, according to Irvine Co. orchard coordinator Alan Reynolds.

Only a sudden frost could cause problems for growers, but Reynolds said the long-range National Weather Service forecast calls for overall warmer-than-usual weather through mid-March.

Even Southland beaches, where it is usually cooler, basked in idyllic summer weather. Seal Beach posted an eye-popping high of 83 degrees, with other Orange County lifeguard stations reporting highs in the upper 70s.

But meteorologists said things may change just a bit in the next few days.

Relative humidity in Los Angeles ranged from an overnight high of only 31% all the way down to 10% at 3 p.m. because of what weather service specialist Stan Massey said was a “mild Santa Ana” condition.

That, he explained, was because air moving out of a high-pressure area centered over Idaho and northern Utah has been pushing dry, hot air from the deserts westward into Southern California.

The high pressure area is expected to weaken gradually today and Saturday, however, which should allow a breeze from the sea to cool the coastal areas.

Mostly Sunny

The forecast called for mostly sunny skies and highs today ranging from the middle 70s in the coastal areas to the middle 80s inland, dropping to the 70s by Saturday.

Beach weather was expected to remain near-perfect.

About 350,000 swimmers and sunbathers visited beaches from Zuma to San Diego on Thursday. More than 45,000 people swarmed to the perennially popular Newport and Huntington municipal beaches. Skeleton winter crews of lifeguards could breathe easy, though: Water temperatures were a spine-tingling 57 to 59 degrees--enough, they said, to keep even the most ardent swimmers on the warm sand.

“The surf is exceptionally small, so even the surfers are staying out,” San Clemente Marine Safety Lt. Larry Moore said. “Oh, a few brave souls will run in and take a dip now and then. But they come right out.”

At least as many sea-and-surf lovers were expected to greet the somewhat improved breakers again today.

Winds to Lessen

The weather service said they should find surf moderate, 2 to 3 feet, with air temperatures reaching the high 60s, and water temperature three to four degrees cooler.

Weekend yachtsmen should find northeast winds moderating. Twenty-knot afternoon breezes have been common for a day or two, but forecasters said this should drop back to 10 or 15 knots in outer and inner waters from Point Conception to the Mexican border, with the usual light and variable breezes in the mornings.

Mountain resorts were expecting crowds.

In addition to the skiers booked into accommodations in the Sierra and in the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains, the sudden thaw has brought out the hikers.

U.S. Forest Service spokesman Bob Swinford said the weather in Angeles National Forest was “beautiful” Thursday, and predicted a “tremendous crowd” if it stays that way through the weekend.

Forecasters said it should do that: Mountain skies were expected to remain clear through the weekend, though east to northeast winds gusting to 30 m.p.h. were predicted for today, shifting northwesterly by Saturday and northerly by Sunday, with the cooling trend depressing resort-altitude afternoon temperatures to the upper 50s Saturday and to the mid-40s by Sunday. Overnight temperatures below the freezing level were forecast for the entire period.

Fair in the Deserts

The weather service said fair skies should remain over the deserts until Sunday, when variable high clouds may appear in the north. High desert temperatures were expected to hit the mid-60s to mid-70s, while low deserts visitors should bask in 90-degree afternoons until Sunday, when a drop to the mid-80s is expected.

Arizona was expecting variable high cloudiness in the mountains and deserts, with mountain temperatures reaching the high 40s and low 50s from overnight lows in the teens, and desert temperatures in the low 80s today, cooling as much as five degrees Saturday and Sunday.

Forecasters said Las Vegas should be fair and warm, with highs in the upper 70s today sliding to the middle to lower 60s by Sunday.

San Francisco’s weekend forecast began with fair skies today and Saturday, changing to a chance of rain by Sunday with temperatures in the high 60s today, dropping to the high 50s by Sunday.

Ensenada visitors were told to look for fair skies today, changing slightly to patchy early morning fog along the coast and a gradual cooling pattern as the weekend goes on.

Temperatures in the Baja California resort town were expected to reach the high 70s today, dropping back to the low 70s by Sunday.