A Warmer Weekend Is on the Way

Possible overnight drizzles should be gone from Southern California by this morning, the forecasters say, giving way to wind and to warmer weather that should be even better by the weekend.

Today’s west-to-northwest winds, expected to gust to about 20 m.p.h., “ought to die down” tonight and shouldn’t be too much of a problem after that, said meteorologist Pat Cooper of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

“It will be very cool in Orange County because you will be having that wind coming in off the ocean during the day, keeping temperatures in the upper 50s to mid-60s Friday,” Cooper said.

With a large low-pressure system to the north continuing to move inland and a high-pressure ridge building up off Baja California, Southland temperatures are expected to rise from today’s cloudy mid-60s to low 70s on Saturday and slightly warmer on Sunday.

Cooper said the weekend’s warming trend should bring temperatures back into the 70s and possibly the 80s by Sunday.

“It looks like a pretty nice weekend for the county,” Cooper said.

The cold front that brushed the Southland on Thursday brought winds whipping up to more than 30 m.p.h. in the Antelope Valley. Edwards Air Force Base had southwest gusts of 37 m.p.h. and parts of the Owens Valley had gusts of more than 40 m.p.h.

Stiff winds also hit the deserts of San Diego County and Kern County. Motorists with high-profile vehicles were warned to be careful driving around the Mojave Desert.

The National Weather Service said Thursday’s high temperature at Santa Ana was 68 degrees. The low was 50. Relative humidity was 69%.

The storm front dumped heavy rain on Northern California, snow and strong winds in the Sierra Nevada and high winds in Nevada.