COUNTYWIDE : Clouds Move In as Warm Wave Passes

Orange County’s warm wave is over.

After basking in temperatures in the 80s for much of last week, Orange County began seeing marine coastal clouds and feeling cooler breezes Sunday, the National Weather Service said. Residents can look forward to comparatively brisk temperature readings today, forecasters said, with highs reaching only into the upper 60s.

The Santa Ana condition that was pulling hot desert air into Southern California dissipated Sunday, sending afternoon highs as much as 10 degrees under those recorded for Saturday. In Santa Ana on Sunday, for example, the high was 73, eight degrees under Saturday’s high of 81.

National Weather Service specialist Bill Hoffer predicted that the high for Santa Ana today would be lower still, around 68.

Skies across the county will be partly cloudy all day today, Hoffer said, becoming mostly clear again on Tuesday. Nighttime lows will remain about the same--in the 50s, where they have been for several days.

The cool spell might last only a couple of days, though, Hoffer said. There is a chance that a new Santa Ana condition could arrive in the county by midweek.