August Dawns Mellow; Sunny Weekend Ahead

August, which in some years hits Orange County with furnace-like temperatures, arrived on Thursday with the mellowest of weather.

National Weather Service forecasters said that more of the same pleasant temperatures and sunny skies will bless the county over the coming weekend.

High temperatures on Aug. 1 in Orange County often soar into the high 80s or 90s. In 1972, Fullerton marked the arrival of August with a scorching high of 98 degrees--still the record high in the county for Aug. 1.

By contrast, the high temperature in Fullerton on Thursday was only 78 degrees, said a worker in the Fullerton Airport tower. Elsewhere in Orange County, high temperatures were also in the “comfortable range.”

Anaheim’s high for Thursday was 80 degrees, and the Santa Ana Fire Department reported 80 was also the high for that city. At Huntington State Beach, where ocean breezes are a cooling factor, the mercury reached only 70. The sheriff’s Harbor Patrol at Newport Beach reported a high of 68 and a low of 63 for the day.

Clouds obscured the sun in much of the county during the early morning hours, but the sun had burned through by noon up and down the coast. “It was a great day today at the beach,” said a lifeguard at Huntington State Beach.

The National Weather Service has predicted similar weather for today and throughout the weekend: Cloudiness in the morning hours, followed by sunshine in the afternoon and slightly rising, but still mild, high temperatures. The high along the coast is predicted to be about 74 degrees, with a maximum temperature of about 85 degrees in inland areas.

The pleasant weather in Orange County was typical throughout Southern California on Thursday. The National Weather Service said there won’t be much change over the weekend, except for a slight warming trend as a weak high-pressure system settles in.

As low clouds blanketed the coast to about 10 miles inland early Thursday, the high in downtown Los Angeles was 84, after an overnight low of 66. Relative humidity reached a reading of 73%; the low was 42%.

Today and Saturday are expected to be clear, except for patchy low clouds in the early morning hours. High mercury readings in Los Angeles will be 87 to 90 degrees, and the lows will be 64 to 68. Highs in the San Fernando, San Gabriel and San Bernardino valleys will range from 88 to 96.

Sunday through Tuesday, Southern California coastal areas will be mostly sunny except for some low clouds and fog during late nights and early mornings. Highs will be in the mid-70s along the beaches and in the upper 90s to near 100 in the valleys.

Southern California mountain areas also are expected to be a little warmer over the next few days, with highs of 72 to 82. In the deserts, where there will be west-to-southwest winds of 25 m.p.h. late this afternoon, highs will be 72 to 82 in the lower elevations and 92 to 102 in the higher regions.

Light, variable offshore winds are predicted through tonight over the inner waters from Point Conception to San Clemente Island and the Mexican border. Wind waves will be 1 to 2 feet high.

Surf will be 2 to 3 feet at 11-second intervals off Zuma Beach and in the Santa Monica Bay today and Saturday. At Newport and Huntington beaches, waves will be 2 to 4 four feet every 12 seconds. Surf of 3 to 4 feet every 14 seconds is predicted for San Diego’s Mission Beach.