Countywide : Sun Gives Way to Low Clouds, Moisture

Last weekend’s sunshine seemed like a distant memory as Wednesday’s low clouds threatened isolated showers by tonight in parts of Orange County.

The high pressure system that brought clear skies and warm temperatures weakened, and Westerly winds brought fog and moisture inland, said Curtis Brach, meteorologist for WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

The forecast calls for only light drizzle through Friday morning. Early fog will burn off by Friday afternoon, with warmer temperatures reaching the 70s, Brach added.

For businesses that thrive on summer weather, the change is dampening more than the atmosphere. Since the clouds and fog arrived, “business has been dead” at the Laguna Niguel Touchless Carwash station, employee Pete Galabiz said.

It was different last weekend, when sunshine and summer-like temperatures sent lines of cars whizzing through the carwash’s sudsy tunnels. Generally, Galabiz said, the carwash on a successful day services about 300 cars. But Sunday’s coveted sunshine increased business to about 80 cars per hour.

It was “like Grand Central,” Galabiz said. “It was unbelievable.”