Spring Break Is Shaping Up as a Beach

Mild Santa Ana winds brought record-breaking temperatures to Orange County on Thursday and the promise of a sizzling start to the Easter holiday break for thousands of students.

The mercury hit 91 in Anaheim, topping the county record for the date set more than a century ago.

And forecasters say today should be a carbon copy with highs pushing into the upper 80s and low 90s, much to the delight of about 340,000 county students who begin a weeklong hiatus from school at day’s end.

With winter now a mere memory, county beaches are expected to absorb the bulk of spring vacationers.

Lifeguards estimated that more than 75,000 people--nearly six times the average winter-day crowd--stretched out on the sand Thursday from San Clemente to Seal Beach, and the prediction is for only slight cooling Saturday and Sunday.

“If the weather stays the way it is, it (the beach) will be packed,” said Eric Bauer, a Newport Beach marine safety officer.

Meteorologist Dan Bowman of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for the Times, agreed. “It looks like great weather for getting out to the beach. . . . There’s going to be an awful lot of burned bodies after this weekend,” he said.

High pressure building over the interior triggered Santa Ana winds Thursday, pushing warm desert air through the canyons and mountain passes into the Southland, Bowman said.

The 91-degree reading in Anaheim broke the county record of 88 for March 24, a mark that was recorded in 1882, also in Anaheim.

Elsewhere in the county, Santa Ana hit 85 degrees, El Toro 83, San Juan Capistrano, 78, and Newport Beach, 68.

It was even hotter in Los Angeles, where the mercury topped 94 degrees under clear skies, a condition that has people monitoring seasonal rainfall a bit anxious.

So far this year, only 8.28 inches of rain has fallen in Santa Ana, nearly three inches below normal for this time of year. And the prospects for a shower?

“Zippo,” Bowman said. “It looks dry right through Easter.”