L.A. Warms to a Record 85 Degrees

Spurred by warm desert winds, temperatures soared to a record high of 85 degrees in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday, breaking a mark that had lasted for more than 80 years.

Although forecasters predict slightly cooler temperatures today, they added that pleasant warm days should continue through the weekend.

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, surprising enough, not everyone was 100% pleased by the development.

“It’s supposed to be gray in February,” said 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.”

Few Enter Water

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 county lifeguard at Hermosa Beach, where the surf rose to about 4 feet, with fair shape.

The reading of 85 at the Civic Center was one degree higher than the previous record for Feb. 9 set in 1907, according to the National Weather Service. The normal high temperature for the date is 68 degrees.

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

The highest temperature statewide Tuesday was 88, shared by Monrovia and San Gabriel.

Montebello and Pasadena both reached 86; it was 85 in Woodland Hills and 83 in Long Beach.

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 below the canyons. Temperatures should remain dry and pleasant through the weekend, Smith added.