COUNTYWIDE : El Toro Is Hottest Spot in Nation: 96

The El Toro Marine Corps Air Station recorded the highest temperature in the nation at 96 Tuesday, the result of hot, dry Santa Ana winds from the north and northeast that scoured the county’s interior.

The winds are expected to warm the temperature the rest of the week in the same areas, said Curtis Brack, a meteorologist with WeatherData, which provides forecasts for the Times.

Santa Ana was 81, while the thick blanket of fog on the coast cooled the temperature in Newport Beach to 67.

A high-pressure front coming from the southern Rockies in Colorado and New Mexico--combined with a weak low-pressure area along the coast--is pushing the winds, Brack said.

Winds at El Toro reached 20 to 35 m.p.h., while they blew at about 12 m.p.h. at John Wayne Airport, where some airplanes experienced minor turbulence.

The Santa Anas are also known for blowing a combination of fine acidic particles and nitrogen dioxide into Orange County that gives a “brown, smudgy look to the sky,” said Bill Kelly, spokesman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. “The air can look quite bad but it still is actually below the federal health standards.”

While the early morning fog didn’t cause problems on the freeways, the Santa Ana Freeway was closed for about 15 minutes in Anaheim after a woman threatened to jump from the Katella Avenue overpass, the California Highway Patrol reported.

She was taken into custody at about 7:20 a.m. by the Anaheim Police Department.

“Nothing happened,” said Officer Jim Moser. The woman, who was described as a transient and mentally ill, was taken to Western Medical Center-Anaheim for observation.