Is It Summer Yet? No, but It Sure Feels Like It

Sweaty legs stick to plastic seats. Sun-baked steering wheels require oven mitts. Hair wilts and frizzes.

Yes, summer weather is back.

Temperatures in the San Fernando Valley climbed into the high 90s again Friday, dipping only a degree or two from the day before and heralding the start of sun-splashed days and balmy evenings that will last for months.

Department store swimsuit sections and ice cream parlors promise to be weekend battlegrounds as Valley residents struggle to look cool and get cool at the same time.

At least one Valley drive-in movie theater is gearing up for the rush of cars expected to begin pouring in so people can watch films under the stars, away from frosty air-conditioned indoor theaters.

And police are getting ready for the start of a warm season that often brings higher crime rates--especially on warm nights--and more drunk driving than during cooler months.

“Traditionally, people drink more beer when it’s hot and then they get out and drive,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Bill Mulvihill. “It’s really a problem.” The mercury inched up to 99 degrees in Van Nuys by about 3 p.m. In Woodland Hills, it reached 100 and in Burbank, 92, according to WeatherData.

Although thick with heat Friday, the air was relatively clean. Smog levels fell well below predictions by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and the mountains remained visible, the horizon not too brown.

Perhaps the hordes of weekenders who flee their stuffy homes in search of a bit of nature are evidence of the biggest change inspired by hotter days. Parks and campgrounds are overrun with humanity during the summer--beginning right about now.

At Hansen Dam Recreation Area, about three times the average number of park-goers turn up during the hottest summer weekends.

“We’ll have a lot of people out here this weekend,” said Carl Decker, park maintenance supervisor at Hansen Dam. “Even today [Friday] when people are supposed to be working, there are more people than normal out here enjoying the shade.”

Hot weekends mean big crowds at Castaic Lake State Recreation Area as well. On such days, the lake reaches its maximum boat capacity--500--by around 11 a.m., according to Mike Coash, aquatics manager.

“From there, it’s one in, one out,” Coash said. “People have spring fever and they want to get their boats out on the water and this is the place to do it.”