Winds Expected to Pick Up as Rainfall Clears

The rain that pattered into Southern California on Wednesday afternoon to slick down streets and get a chokehold on holiday eve getaway traffic will probably be gone by this morning, forecasters say--but some hats may be blown off today.

“Behind the cold front, it’s quite windy,” said meteorologist Patricia Cooper of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times. “There may be a few clouds, but the big concern will be the wind.”

In Orange County, Santa Ana had a high of 66 degrees Wednesday after an overnight low of 49. Coastal areas were considerably cooler, with Newport Beach reporting a high of only 59 degrees.

The mountains and deserts may get some leftover shower activity today, Cooper said, and there is apt to be plenty of wind there, too.

Orange County beaches may get surf up to 6 feet today on west-facing strands. Water temperatures have decreased to a chilly 56 degrees.

As for the weekend, Cooper predicted: “The weather is going to be improving. Clear skies will be back, but it’s still going to be rather windy.”

The National Weather Service predicts gusty west-to-northwest winds up to 25 m.p.h. today and Friday, with the Orange County and Los Angeles areas getting high temperatures of 62 to 66 degrees and overnight lows of 46 to 52. It should be slightly warmer by Saturday, forecasters said, with winds below the canyons decreasing on Sunday.

The NWS’s San Diego office warned of dangerous surf conditions for today and said “snow and wind could make it hazardous traveling in the mountains.” Holiday boaters were advised “to use common sense and caution for safe boating.”

Offshore winds of 20 to 30 knots probably will stir 6-foot seas today, prompting a small craft advisory from Point Conception to San Clemente Island.

In the meantime, a winter storm system was dawdling over the Sierra Nevada, prompting forecasts of snow down to the 6,000-foot level from Yosemite south. Another weather system is expected to move into Northern California today, spreading rain and snow into Central California by early Friday.