Growers Still Face Freezing Nights : Warm Air Mass Moving Into Southland

Temperatures will rise slightly today and over the weekend, the National Weather Service said Thursday, as a high-pressure area with a warmer air mass moved toward chilly Southern California and gusty winds began to weaken.

Despite the warming trend, Orange County’s citrus, strawberry and avocado growers will probably face continuing danger of overnight freezing temperatures, said Walt Bartlett, National Weather Service agriculture specialist who prepares crop warnings for the Orange County Farm Bureau.

“I’m sure there was strawberry damage, but how much is hard to estimate,” Bartlett said Thursday of the three successive nights of freezing and near-freezing temperatures. “I don’t think it was a lot. We had temperatures down back in the canyons to 27 (degrees) but some windy areas were actually up in the 40s.”

The Weather Service advised growers on Thursday that “protection will be needed for frost-sensitive crops in colder, low-ground locations.”

“The daytime temperatures should start to warm, but it takes a while for the nighttime temperatures to catch up,” Bartlett said. By Saturday night, temperatures should be no lower than 32 degrees and “be pretty much out of the critical area,” he said.

“This may be a little colder year than we’ve had in the last two or three years, the way it’s starting out.”

Temperatures today in Orange County and costal areas are expected to reach into the high 60s to low 70s. Thursday’s high in Orange was 65 degrees, according to the Weather Service.

Although the mercury was expected to drop as far as 28 degrees in some locations early today, low readings should generally be 38 to 48 tonight.

Today’s downtown Los Angeles maximum reading is expected to be near 66--five degrees above Thursday’s high. On Saturday, it should be up to 72. But that’s about it for the time being. Thursday’s Civic Center low was 39.

Sunday through Tuesday should bring fair weather to Southern California with high temperatures 64 to 72.

The deserts will be slightly warmer also--highs 48 to 56 in the upper deserts today and 52 to 62 on Saturday.

In the Southern California mountains, highs will be 42 to 48 degrees at the resorts today and 46 to 54 on Saturday, with little change the rest of the weekend. Overnight lows will be 18 to 28 degrees.

Ski resorts were operating, but there were still some highway problems because of snow and icy pavement. State Highway 38 remained closed Thursday between Big Bear and Mentone, the California Highway Patrol said. Chains were required on Highway 18 from Crestline to the Lucerne Valley and on Highway 330 between San Bernardino and Running Springs.

Chains were also mandatory on the Angeles Crest Highway above 6,000 feet. The road to Mt. Baldy was open, but motorists were advised to watch for icy patches.

In the San Joaquin Valley, dense fog made driving hazardous early Thursday and was expected to return this morning.

Times staff writer Mark Landsbaum contributed to this article.