A Clear-Cut Case of Summery Weather : Meteorology: Warm, windy conditions send hundreds to Orange County beaches. Downed trees, outages, false alarms are reported.

Warm and wild Santa Ana winds polished Orange County into a picture postcard Sunday, sending hundreds of people to the seashore while leaving others to deal with toppled trees, power outages and false alarms.

Meteorologists predict the blustery and unseasonably warm conditions will last at least a few more days.

Whipping through the canyons early Sunday morning, high winds and blowing sands reduced visibility on the Riverside Freeway to a quarter mile between Imperial Highway and Weir Canyon Road, causing a CHP advisory for most of the day. Small craft warnings were also issued along the coast, which saw northeasterly winds up to 40 m.p.h.

Winds also played havoc with house and car alarms, set off by the vibrations. Huntington Beach police answered 36 false-alarm calls, a normal week’s worth, in the morning alone, Sgt. Ron Jenkins said.

Trees were downed throughout the county, one blocking the Seal Beach Boulevard ramp to the northbound San Diego Freeway in Westminster early in the morning and another flattening a 1983 Buick in Santa Ana.

Southern California Edison reported 200 individual power outages lasting up to three hours in Santa Ana, Tustin and Garden Grove caused by trees falling or swaying into power lines. One eucalyptus tree split a utility pole in Tustin.

Frank Holecek of Santa Ana said a 40-foot tree fell on his car about 4:30 a.m. in an open space outside his home at the South Coast Terrace condominiums, near the Performing Arts Center. “My wife’s been calling (the car) a death trap,” he said. “She’ll be pleased.”

Agriculture authorities blamed the falling trees on the longstanding drought, which has caused many yard trees to develop shallow roots.

“We haven’t had deep rains for four or five years. A lot have surface roots,” said James D. Harnett, Orange County agricultural commissioner. Recent rains dampened the soil, making them easier to uproot, he said, adding that ornamental trees also need to be pruned properly to survive wind damage.

Elsewhere, the winds made Santa Catalina and San Clemente islands crisply visible across the blue sea while temperatures of 83 degrees offered the illusion of summer.

“The beach is packed,” said Dave Wenger, a marine safety officer for Newport Beach. “The surfers are out. The water’s cleared up. People are roller blading, bike riding, hacky sacking, squash balling, soaking up the rays and playing in the water.

“It’s like a summer day.”

Forecasters from WeatherData, which supplies reports to The Times, predict at least two more days of the unseasonably warm weather and Santa Ana winds gusting from 15 to 30 m.p.h. Tuesday.

In addition to the Riverside Freeway, CHP officials warned of hazardous driving conditions for campers and trailers on the Antelope Valley Freeway, the San Bernardino Freeway in Fontana, and the Barstow Freeway in Devore. Drivers below the Cajon Pass were warned of particularly hazardous conditions.

By 1 p.m. Sunday, highs had climbed to 83 in inland Orange County, 79 at the beaches, 85 at the Los Angeles Civic Center, and up to 81 in the inland valleys.

The highs, though not expected to break records, were predicted to remain in the mid-80s.

Temperatures along the coast will continue to reach into the 70s, forecasters said. Lows are expected to range from the mid-40s to the mid-50s, said Steve Burback, a WeatherData meteorologist.