Hot and Muggy Weather Likely Through Sunday

The near-90-degree heat that engulfed parts of Orange County on Thursday is expected to stick around through the weekend, and so is the unusually muggy weather.

“There are no weather records being threatened but these are the hottest days this summer,” said Steve Burback, a meteorologist for WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

Two of the hottest spots in the county on Thursday were Anaheim and Lake Forest, both of which hit 89 degrees. Other hot spots were Santa Ana, which reached a high of 86, and San Juan Capistrano at 84.

The Orange County forecast for today and Saturday calls for slightly warmer weather throughout the county. Temperatures are expected to range from the mid-70s along the coast to high 80s and low 90s in some of the inland cities.

But cooler temperatures are expected to return next week.

“It appears that there will be some relief around Monday or Tuesday when temperatures will cool to more normal levels from the 70s to the middle-80s,” Burback said.

Those cooler temperatures won’t mean an end to the muggy weather that has lingered since Tropical Storm Darby blew into town last week.

Humidity levels are expected to be close to 100% during the early morning hours, then drop to the 45% to 60% range during the rest of the day, Burback said.

“The humidity is what makes it worse than the last heat wave,” Burback said. “There’s also no sign of something like the Santa Ana Winds or a cold front to push it out.”