Sunny and Slightly Cooler : A Bright Forecast for the Weekend

Tropical moisture that kept Southern California hot and muggy for several days finally started moving northward Thursday, and the National Weather Service predicted a weekend of bright skies, dry air and a slight cooling trend along the coast.

High temperature at the Los Angeles Civic Center on Thursday was 91 degrees. Passing remnants of tropical depression Guillermo kept relative humidity in the 38% to 67% range.

But forecasters said the storm--now more than 700 miles off the tip of Baja California--was moving away to the west.

Thundershowers in Mountains

Enough moisture was left behind to brew up afternoon and evening showers and thundershowers in the mountains and deserts. Storm pods were scudding through the Sierra north of Bishop and Inokern by late afternoon. Continued instability was predicted in those areas for the next few days.

Along the western edge of Southern California, however, the forecast was for a return to typical summer weather.

Beaches were expecting moderate surf: two- to three-foot sets with water temperature in the high 60s, a 7 to 16 m.p.h. sea breeze and air temperature in the 70s.

Yachtsmen who stay close to shore can expect light morning breezes to freshen southwest to west and rise to 20 knots with one- to two-foot wind waves in the afternoon and evening from Point Conception to the Mexican border. Those venturing farther out were told to look for northwest winds to 25 knots (and an occasional local gust to 30 knots) in the afternoon, with combined seas running three to six feet.

Mountain Highs in 80s

The forecast for the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountain ranges included a few afternoon and evening thundershowers hanging around through the early part of next week. Temperatures were expected to range from an afternoon high in the 80s to an overnight low in the mid-50s to mid-60s at resort levels.

Forecasters said northern desert visitors can expect mostly fair skies, but storm pods will still be drifting around, dropping an occasional thundershower with afternoon winds rising to 20 m.p.h. at times and temperatures above 100. The southern desert forecast was about the same, but temperatures could climb to 114 or higher in some places.

Arizona’s mountains and deserts were expecting clear mornings with a few widely scattered thundershowers accompanied by winds to 25 m.p.h. in the afternoons and evenings. Mountain highs should be in the 80s to above 100 degrees; deserts were braced for highs above 115.

Hot in Las Vegas

Southern Nevada and Las Vegas were expected to stay hot--afternoon highs from 100 to 115--with a chance of thundershowers in the afternoon and evenings.

Those planning a weekend in San Francisco can expect temperatures to the 60s near the ocean and above 100 inland, with a bit of morning fog and low clouds along the coast, the Weather Service said.

Ensenada weekenders were told to plan on warm, sunny days with variable high clouds at times, patchy low clouds and fog overnight, and afternoon temperatures rising to the 90s.