Surf’s Up for Weekend, but Not Mercury

Surf should be up this weekend.

Forecasters said heavy southwest swells coming up from the South Pacific will generate waves of four to six feet on a 12-second interval along most south-facing beaches.

The ocean should remain cool--in the high 60s by late afternoon, about the time a sea breeze of 10-17 m.p.h. begins blowing--and air temperatures are expected to remain in the upper 60s and low 70s in most places.

Meteorologists agreed that an onshore flow of marine air should continue the unseasonable downturn of temperatures in Southern California today, Saturday and Sunday, with coastal cloudiness hanging on later in the day and thundershowers gradually dying away across the Arizona border.

Morning Clouds

The high temperatures in Orange County Thursday were 78 in El Toro, 69 in Newport Beach, 82 in San Juan Capistrano and 80 in Santa Ana, according to the National Weather Service. Wednesday night’s lows ranged from 55 in San Juan Capistrano to 61 in Santa Ana.

Today and Saturday should start out with night and morning low clouds, clearing to mostly sunny afternoons. Highs both days are expected to range from the upper 60s near the beaches to the upper 70s inland, with overnight lows in the upper 50s to low 60s.

The high temperature at Los Angeles Civic Center Thursday was 84 degrees, with relative humidity 38% to 84% during the day; the National Weather Service said the high should be a degree or two cooler today, declining to the very low 80s or upper 70s before the weekend is over.

Boating enthusiasts who stay close to shore were told to expect west-to-southwest winds rising to 18 knots and three-foot seas from Point Conception to the Mexican border, while those who venture farther to sea can look for west-to-northwest winds to 15 knots.

Mountains Clear

The San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains were expected to remain clear, with resort highs from the mid-70s to the lower 80s, while clear and sunny skies were predicted for the Sierra.

Cary Schudy, meteorologist-spokesman for Earth Environment Service, a private forecasting firm based in San Francisco, said deserts--which have been troubled by thundershower activity for the last few days--should see generally fair skies through the weekend, but the National Weather Service said there might be a few final growls of thunder and spatters of rain in the Colorado River Valley late today.

Temperatures in the high desert were expected to reach 100 degrees or more, while low deserts should be about 108.