Unusually Warm Temperatures Draw Thousands to Beach

They streamed into town on bicycles, motorcycles and convertibles with the tops down.

They strolled hand in hand on the boardwalk, proudly pushed new babies in lace-lined strollers or cruised along in high-topped roller skates. And wearing shorts, flowered trunks and, sometimes, the teeniest of bikinis, they splashed in the ocean or collapsed beside it on the sand.

It was a lazy Sunday along the Orange County coast. With temperatures in the mid-70s, it felt more like June than early February.

So thousands of Orange County residents--and more than a few visitors from out of state--took advantage of the unseasonal weather and flocked to the beach.

“It feels just like summer,” said Joe Anderson, a General Motors executive from Birmingham, Mich., who strolled the boardwalk Sunday with a friend from Anaheim Hills. “If I were home, I’d be wearing a heavy coat, and gloves, and a hat. So to be here today in a shirt and sunglasses--it’s terrific!”

Lt. Mike Dwinnel agreed. “It’s a nice beach day. Just like summer,” the bronze-chested lifeguard said cheerfully as he scanned the crowded beach.

Still, Dwinnel noted, the ocean was cold--about 58 degrees, compared to typical summer temperatures in the 60s. Since only a few people were swimming, there had been no ocean rescues--”just a few minor first aids.”

From San Clemente to Newport Beach to Seal Beach, lifeguards reported peaceful crowds, which at some beaches approached summertime levels.

In Seal Beach, about 6,000 people went to the shore, about the size of a midweek summertime crowd, lifeguard Steve Chafe said. At Huntington Beach State Park, 4,000 people crowded a 2-mile stretch of beach that typically draws only 200 people on a winter weekend. (A charity bike ride that ended here may have helped boost attendance, however, state parks dispatcher Dan Weiler said.)

Meanwhile, at Huntington Beach itself, a city lifeguard reported 30,000 people--a large crowd for wintertime. Another 9,000 went to San Clemente beaches.

And in Newport Beach, 60,000 sunbathers, surfers and strollers visited its 6 miles of beaches Sunday.

“We have a beautiful day on the beach--very sunny, warm and a lot of people,” Marine Safety Officer Mitch White said. “Normally at this time of year, we’d be lucky to get 10,000. So it’s actually a good crowd.”

All in all, he said, “it’s beautiful out. We’ve been able to drive around without our shirts on. That’s usually how you tell a good day.”

The warm weather should continue through the rest of the week, said Steve Burback, a meteorologist with WeatherData, the firm that provides weather forecasts for The Times.

Although no temperature records were set on Sunday, he said, it was unusually warm, with highs of 80 degrees in Santa Ana, 78 in Anaheim, 79 in El Toro, 65 in Newport Beach and 77 in San Juan Capistrano.

The price, however, is the continued drought.

“I don’t see much relief,” Burback said. And many beach-goers said they also were concerned.

The crisis “puts a damper on all this nice weather,” said teacher Nancy Anas, 36, of El Toro as she waited with 13-month-old Nikki for a turn at the swings in Laguna. “We know we need more rain.”

Laguna Beach resident Michael Ray and his wife, Teddy, out for a walk through town with 1 1/2-year-old Elizabeth, said they had just encountered a friend who had groused about the hot weather, complaining, “This is horrible! It’s the middle of February and this drought is killing us.”

But Michael Ray had an answer to that. “This is why folks back East hate California,” he grinned as he turned Elizabeth’s stroller back toward the beach.