An 81-Year-Old Record Was Broken : Cooler, but Warm, Days Ahead

Spurred by warm desert winds, temperatures soared to a record high of 83 degrees in Orange County Tuesday, breaking a mark that had stood for 81 years.

The unseasonably warm weather also contributed to an 85-degree reading in downtown Los Angeles, breaking the previous mark of 84 degrees set in 1907.

The high of 83 recorded in Santa Ana shortly after 2 p.m. also broke a record set in 1907. The previous Orange County record for Feb. 9 had been 78 degrees. Two other cities--Fullerton and Mission Viejo--shattered the old county record with high readings of 82 Tuesday.

Weather forecasters predicted slightly cooler temperatures today, but they added that pleasant warm days should continue through the weekend with temperatures staying at least in the high 70s the remainder of the week.

Neared Old Mark

Even at the beaches, the temperature neared the old mark. Jim McMillen, a lifeguard at Huntington State Beach, said the high reached 76 degrees.

“It was a nice, warm day, that’s for sure,” McMillen said. “I don’t remember it being this warm here in February. It was really nice, though.”

Wayne Dottenwhy, a lifeguard at Main Beach in Laguna where the high was 74 degrees, said more than 1,000 people escaped to the sand during the comfortable and languid afternoon.

“It was a fairly good crowd, especially for a weekday. If this had been a weekend, I’m sure we would have been packed,” Dottenwhy said.

The T-shirt temperatures, in a month that is usually remembered for heating bills rather than heat waves, resulted in somewhat larger than usual crowds at Los Angeles County beaches. But, surprisingly enough, not everyone was 100% pleased by the development.

“It’s supposed to be gray in February,” said Los Angeles County Lifeguard Capt. Steve Voorhees, half joking. “This is when we’re supposed to be able to kick back and get ready for the summer. . . . The weather is not cooperating with us at all.”

With the water temperature at 57 degrees, however, few sun worshipers went beyond the sand.

“It was fanny dipping and getting out,” said Ross MacKinnon, a lifeguard at Hermosa Beach, where the surf rose to about 4 feet.

The low temperature Tuesday in Los Angeles and Orange counties was 52 degrees, compared to a normal low of 49 degrees for Feb. 9. Relative humidity ranged from 17% to 55%.

The unusually warm weather resulted from bright sunshine combined with easterly winds blowing in from the desert at 10 to 15 m.p.h., according to Mike Smith of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

“It was like a Santa Ana, but it isn’t what we’d call a classic Santa Ana,” Smith said.

Santa Ana winds generally occur when a major change in barometric pressure over Los Angeles combines with a low-pressure system over Baja California and a large high-pressure center over western Utah and eastern Nevada, Smith explained.

On Tuesday, he said, the winds blew in from the desert without the large barometric pressure gradient.

The heat spell reached far beyond Los Angeles--San Francisco experienced a record high temperature of 70, breaking the previous mark of 67 set in 1970, Smith said.

The forecaster said that temperatures today should reach the low 80s inland and the 70s at the beach. Wind gusts should reach 15 to 25 m.p.h., particularly downwind of the canyons. Temperatures should remain dry and pleasant through the weekend, Smith added.