Nature Lavishes Its Finest Touch on County, With More to Come

In some parts of the nation on Sunday, car tires spun and shrieked against snow-covered streets.

In other areas, rain fell, ushering in the season of coughs and common colds. Chill temperatures kept children inside--and under foot--and required the expensive fueling of furnaces. For those luckless areas of the United States, November was casting its tiresome gray pall.

But in Orange County, the second Sunday of November was a work of art. Brisk, warm breezes produced puffy sails in Newport Bay. Clear, sunny skies brought smiles to lovers walking on the beaches.

Temperatures in Orange County rose to the high 70s, with warm northeasterly winds gusting up to 35 m.p.h. The National Weather Service said that many of the warm, blustery winds on Sunday were Santa Anas, blowing off the eastern deserts and down through the canyons to the coast.

The warm winds also cleaned the air. Saddleback’s twin mountains loomed majestically against blue skies, and Orange County parks unfolded their green arms to hordes of families enjoying Sunday picnics.

No Traffic Jams

Motorists, seeking to enjoy their favorite outdoor areas, turned out in large numbers, yet no traffic jams were reported on Orange County roads and freeways.

“It’s just been a nice, beautiful Sunday afternoon,” said Lt. Russ Elsner of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. “There’ve been no traffic-related problems.”

The California Highway Patrol likewise reported that freeways were as benign as the Sunday weather. “No problems at all,” said a CHP radio dispatcher late Sunday afternoon. “It’s quiet out there.”

In Santa Ana’s Centennial Regional Park, the weather-perfect Sunday got off to a running start. Literally.

Hundreds of runners from all over Orange County converged on the park about 7 a.m. to participate in the Santa Ana Turkey Trot, sponsored by the city. The event offered a trio of choices: a mini-marathon or a 5-kilometer or 10-kilometer run.

In whichever event they chose, turkey-trot participants found “incredibly good running weather,” in the words of one 10-K participant. Cool, invigorating early-morning temperatures blessed the pre-Thanksgiving runners, and the fastest in their categories won frozen turkeys.

Later in the day, Newport Bay became an aquatic mecca. So many sailboats plied the waters between Lido Island and Coast Highway that homes on the island at times seemed blotted out by the massive Sunday “white sail.”

At the Orange Coast College Sailing and Rowing Base, which is shared by UC Irvine, a father who is also a student happily mixed baby sitting and a nice afternoon on the bay. “It’s great out there today,” said Steve Holley, 35, who had his 5-year-old daughter, Danielle, and her friend, Jessica, in tow as he tied up a UCI-owned Lido 14 at the college dock.

Holley, a dentist who’s now working for an advanced business degree at UCI, grinned as he described a side benefit of going back to college--”We get to use the sailboats.”

Dodging Bigger Boats

About 50 yards away, two Sea Scouts from Huntington Beach also enjoyed the sailing weather, although in more modest craft. Nick Soulias and Mitch Melott, both 15 and from Huntington Beach, bobbed in a tiny, two-person Sabot sailboat that weaved in and out of the bigger-boat traffic like a VW dodging truck lanes.

“This wind picks up this little boat and makes it go faster,” explained Melott. Added Soulias, “There’s a pretty good wind out there, and it’s great for sailing.”

Forecasters said the weather will continue warm today, with temperatures up to the low 80s, and the Santa Ana winds should continue and gain a little in strength, with gusts to 40 m.p.h.

The weekend interlude may be over for those returning to work today, but Orange County drivers can feel happy about one thing: There’s no snow and ice on any of the roads or freeways.