Slight Relief Due : In 3 Words It Was: Hot Hot, Hot

More than hot, it was sweltering, humid, a mite smoggy and generally uncomfortable in Orange County on Friday for anyone without air conditioning or sea breezes.

The slow broil caused problems for Serafin Carrillo, 26, of Santa Ana, where temperatures hit 92 degrees. Carrillo’s Cadillac overheated northbound on the San Diego Freeway near Culver Drive in Irvine.

“It’s not hot here like it is in Tijuana,” said Carrillo, who moved north of the border a year ago. Unfortunately, his car did not agree, he admitted while pouring water over the radiator.

Orange County residents can expect some relief this weekend--but not much.

Forecasts call for cooler temperatures near the coast, and continued heat but a little less humidity inland.

Highs today and Sunday should be in the upper 60s to upper 70s near the beaches, and in the 80s inland. In valley areas, forecasts call for highs ranging between the lower 90s and a roasting 105 degrees. Tonight should be warm as well, with the mercury in the mid- to upper 60s.

Humidity, which ranged between 71% and 93% at the Los Angeles Civic Center on Friday, is expected to drop a little to a range of 69% to 89% today and 68% to 87% Sunday.

The slight cooling expected today and Sunday will come from a greater onshore flow of fresh air, according to WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

But warm temperatures are expected to continue at least through Wednesday.

Highs in Orange County on Friday were 92 degrees in Santa Ana; 79 degrees in Newport Beach, and 78 degrees in San Clemente.

The day’s low was 69 degrees in Newport Beach.

Frank Reilly, a 41-year-old postman who delivers to Laguna Beach residents, said ocean breezes make his route highly sought-after by other carriers. “I could work any postal route I want, but everyone wants the beach routes because they’re cooler,” he said.

But even in hotter parts, a postman’s grit is stronger than mother nature’s whims, he said. “Whether it’s hot or not, the mail has got to get there.”

A sea breeze that for the past few days has been coming up the San Juan Creek valley apparently saved the day for a number of out-of-town visitors to the San Juan Capistrano mission.

Even though the mission grounds are walled, the breeze rustled the old pepper and palm trees and cooled the place enough so that visitors were not uncomfortable.

Robert Shurtz and his family, from Toledo, Ohio, toured the mission at high noon under clear, sunny skies.

“Back home when we left it was 103 and 104 degrees,” he said. “When we came through Needles, it was 109, but it’s been a pleasure here today.”

Pat Krugh of Wilmington, in Los Angeles County, said her home town was like “a pressure-cooker with heavy smog, and the Mission was so pleasant and so quiet” that she and her family “enjoyed every minute of it, with the help of the lovely breeze and clean air.”

Mike Sadowski, his wife, Marilyn, and son, Adam, 3, are from Tucson, Ariz., where “it’s been 100 to 105 degrees .”

“It’s wonderful here, with that great breeze,” he said.

Irma Camareno, a ticket-seller at the mission, said, “Usually, in hot weather, everybody goes to the beach instead of coming here, but not today.” She had no count on attendance, but said she “was very busy” as lines of visitors came in from tour buses or private cars.

Jeff Miller, who reports weather for San Juan Capistrano, said today’s high was 86 degrees, cooler than the last two days of 89 and that so far, July has been about 5 degrees below the average of 85.5 degrees.

Temperatures at the Civic Center in downtown Los Angeles reached a high of 93 Friday, 8 degrees above the normal high for the day. Friday’s low was 71 degrees, 6 degrees above normal. The record high for the date is 98, recorded in 1887.

The National Weather Service issued a flash-flood watch Friday for the mountain and desert areas of Los Angeles and Kern counties and all desert areas of San Bernardino County. Storms were building Friday over the Mt. Pinos area, over the Palmdale-Lancaster area, near Victorville and Barstow and over Riverside and San Diego counties.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued smog alerts Friday in the east and west San Gabriel Valley, Pomona-Walnut Valley and central San Bernardino Valley.