Memorial Weekend to Be Sunny, Mild

Days will be sunny, but temperatures should remain mild over the Memorial Day weekend in Southern California.

High pressure just off the coast and a weak area of low pressure created by heat in the desert will combine to continue and intensify the onshore flow of moist marine air throughout the long holiday period, National Weather Service meteorologists said Thursday.

The offshore high is weakening, and an upper-level trough of low pressure is moving into the Pacific Northwest and Central California, they said, but the main result for Southern California will be a slower clearing of night and morning low cloudiness--which in turn should keep afternoon temperatures in the 70s to low 80s until the middle of next week.

Humidity at 43%

High at Los Angeles Civic Center on Thursday was 81, with relative humidity ranging from a pre-dawn high of 75% to a mid-afternoon low of 43%.

The forecast called for a high of just 78 today, with even cooler afternoons during the rest of the weekend.

Beaches were expected to see temperatures from the high 60s to the low 70s, with night and morning low clouds and fog hanging on until noon in some places. Surf was expected to run 2 to 3 feet, with water temperature from the high 50s to the low 60s.

The Weather Service said weekend seafarers who stay fairly close to shore can expect light morning airs to freshen by afternoon, hitting 10 to 16 knots from the south and southwest in some places from Point Conception to the Mexican border.

Rougher Farther Out

Those who venture farther out can look for northwest winds to 20 knots today, easing to 15 knots by Sunday afternoon, with combined seas running 5 to 8 feet from Point Conception to San Clemente Island.

Early morning fog along the lower slopes and winds gusting to 30 m.p.h. at times were forecast for resort levels of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains, with temperatures dropping to the 30s overnight in some of the higher resort valleys but rising to the 60s and 70s, with skies clear and sunny by early morning, in most places.

The Sierra was expected to remain fair throughout the weekend, with temperatures from the 30s to the 60s.

Windy on the Desert

Desert visitors also were warned to expect a bit of wind: Gusts to 30 m.p.h. were predicted during afternoon and evening hours, with skies remaining fair and temperatures hitting the mid-80s to low 90s in the high desert and the mid-90s to about 105 in the low desert.

Southern Nevada--which saw some minor thunderstorm activity dropping a fraction of an inch of rain at various locations Thursday afternoon--was told to look for more of the same this afternoon, but skies were expected to be sunny and dry with temperatures to the mid-90s Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

The Weather Service predicted mostly fair and dry weather for San Francisco’s weekend, with some cloudiness and patchy low fog along the coast. Temperatures were expected to be just a bit below normal, ranging from the mid-60s near the coast to the mid-80s through the inland valleys.