Sea Breeze to Break Spring Fever’s Sweaty Spell

Southern California sweltered into the second day of a spring heat wave Tuesday, but forecasters said there were signs of a slight cooling trend that could begin today or Thursday.

High temperature at both Santa Ana and Los Angeles civic centers on Tuesday reached 91, four degrees short of the Orange County record for the day and two degrees short of the Los Angeles record. High humidity at times added to the discomfort.

Other highs in Orange County were 87 in El Toro, 78 in San Juan Capistrano and 73 in Newport Beach.

Lifeguards in Los Angeles and Orange counties estimated that about 400,000 people seized the opportunity to spend a part of the day at beaches from Zuma to Newport.

“And the ones that did had no cause for regret,” said Lifeguard Tim Shaun of Huntington Beach. “It was more like midsummer than spring, with good shaped waves and plenty of sun.”

Los Angeles County Lifeguard Lt. Mickey Gallagher said there were a few problems, however. Many lifeguard towers were unmanned, he said, because the heat wave arrived several weeks before seasonal lifeguards were scheduled to be hired.

Cary Schudy, meteorologist-spokesman for Earth Environment Service, a private forecasting organization based in San Francisco, said he expects at least one more hot day.

“By Thursday,” he said, “you should be getting a nice sea breeze again, with overcast skies during the night and morning hours, to bring the temperatures down by about 10 degrees.”