Mild Surf and Balmy Water Make Beaches a Sure Thing Over the 4th

It was only a Wednesday, but it gave a good indication of what the long Fourth of July weekend has in store for places like Huntington Beach.

An estimated 30,000 visitors crowded onto the city’s beaches, and they were welcomed by a mild, two-foot surf and comfortable, 66-degree water.

The National Weather Service is forecasting similar conditions to continue through the weekend all along the Orange County coast. Air temperatures on the sands will be in the high 60s to low 70s, forecasters say.

That means another large Fourth of July beach crowd, said John Gifford, a senior lifeguard at Huntington Beach. “The crowds are usually huge--50,000 to 65,000,” he said. “You can hardly find a place to put your towel.”

Other beaches are also preparing for the rush, which may continue to build today. The weather service was predicting continued two-foot surf and high temperatures of 74 degrees at Huntington and Newport beaches. The usual early morning fog and clouds are expected to burn off early, as they did Wednesday.

Inland temperatures are expected to remain high, helping to persuade inlanders to visit the shore. The high temperature Wednesday was 85 in El Toro and Santa Ana and 84 in San Juan Capistrano, and little change is expected before next week.