Sun, Scattered Thunderstorms Due for Weekend

A bright sun smiled on Southern California Thursday while thundershowers growled and grumbled through isolated areas from the San Bernardino Mountains to northern Arizona, and the National Weather Service said more of the same can be expected through the weekend.

The flow of air around a high-pressure area centered over eastern Arizona, meteorologists explained, is funneling the moisture into the inland deserts and mountains. Meanwhile, another high-pressure area about 800 miles offshore is pushing moist marine air across the coastline each night to produce morning fog and low clouds.

Santa Ana had a high of 79 Thursday, while San Juan Capistrano was the hottest spot in Orange County with an 81 reading. At the beaches, the temperature rose only to 70 degrees but is expected to be a few degrees higher during the weekend.

The weather service said it will be a bit warmer today in the Los Angeles area--85 degrees or so, rising another degree or two Sunday--while humidity should stay high as long as the Arizona pressure center stays put.

Weekend beach weather is expected to be near-perfect, with temperatures in the mid-70s after morning clouds burn away, surf running 2 to 4 feet in most places on a 12-second interval, an afternoon sea breeze from 10-16 m.p.h. and water temperature in the mid-60s.

Boaters might do well to use extreme caution in the fog-ridden early hours, forecasters said, but by mid-morning the skies should be clear again, with a west wind to 15 knots and a two-foot swell close to shore from Point Conception to the Mexican border each day.

The spotty shower pattern predicted for today and Saturday was expected to give way to fair skies with only a few clouds by Sunday in the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains, where highs could reach the upper 80s and lower 90s at resort altitudes. A few afternoon clouds were predicted for the Sierra with highs to the mid-70s and overnight lows in the 40s.