Heat Is On for Weekend; Haze to Visit Beaches

Temperatures will continue to soar into the 100s in the eastern areas of San Diego County today and Sunday, while there will be morning fog and hazy sunshine at the beaches through Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

Residents of Alpine and Escondido not only had to swelter in heat near 100 degrees Friday but were also forced to suffer with unhealthful air caused by an “intrusion of a smog cloud from Los Angeles,” said Tom Ryan, an air pollution meteorologist.

Air quality is expected to improve today in all areas except for the North County coastal areas, Ryan said.

“The marine layer coupled with their proximity to L.A. will cause poor air quality there, but nothing near a first-stage smog alert,” Ryan said.

The San Diego County Pollution Control District measured smog levels at Escondido to be 138 on the pollution scale index. A reading of 200 indicates a first-stage smog alert. San Diego had a reading of 92.

Borrego Springs, as usual, was the hottest spot in the county Friday with a high of 115. Campo had a high of 102; Julian, 95; Escondido, 97, and El Cajon, 95.

A high-pressure system parked right above the San Diego area is responsible for the unseasonably warm weather, said Ray Robben, a forecaster. That same system, however, will trap marine moisture at the beaches and cause the clouds and fog to hang there most of the day.

“The system will squash the fog, pollution and moisture into a relatively shallow area, creating only hazy sunshine at the beaches, at best,” Robben said.

Early-morning clouds will burn off quicker in areas away from the beach, Robben said. The coastal strip will have sunny, warm days and fair nights. Daytime temperatures will range from 73 to 82 with nighttime temperatures about 63 degrees.

Inland areas will be clear and warm with daytime temperatures about 100 degrees. Nights should cool considerably to about 55 degrees, Robben said.

Friday was the smoggiest day of 1985 in the Los Angeles area, the South Coast Air Quality Management District said. In fact, it had been the smoggiest two days in the last two years. And the situation was not expected to get any better soon.

In all of 1984, said Jim Birakos, the district’s deputy executive officer, the district did not have a single second-stage episode, but Glendora and the east San Gabriel Valley suffered through second-stage episodes both Thursday and Friday.

A second-stage episode is declared when the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) is between 275 and 399. Hazardous air quality is declared when the PSI is between 300 and 500.

There has never been a stage-three episode (when the PSI reaches 400). In the event of one, the governor could declare a state of emergency and many businesses would close.