In the Forecast: A Balmy Gift for All Orange County

Old Man Winter will be delivering Christmas presents to Orange County today and through the weekend, according to prophets who study his ways.

Forecasters said today would be a duplicate of the sparkling Christmas Eve weather Tuesday: mild temperatures, scattered clouds and gentle breezes. Moreover, sunny skies are predicted through Sunday, with high temperatures around 70 degrees. No more rain is seen in the immediate future for Orange County, forecaster Jim Erdman said Tuesday.

“Northern California, from San Francisco northward, will be getting some rain late Wednesday night, but not Southern California,” said Erdman, who is with WeatherData, the organization that provides forecasts for The Times.

In Orange County today, the inland high temperatures will be about 72, and in the coastal areas the highs will be in the upper 60s, Erdman said.

Low temperatures on Wednesday night will be about 40 degrees in the coastal areas, and in the upper 30s in the inland areas.

“A pretty nice day is in store, “ he said, summing up his crystal-ball reading for Orange County’s Christmas forecast.

The local mountains still carry the effects of Sunday’s combination of cold air and precipitation, Erdman said.

“The freezing level was down to about 4,000 feet, and so you got snow on some of your mountains,” he said.

In Cypress, where residents could view the distant, snow-covered San Bernardino Mountains, Mayor Tom Carroll waxed poetic about the return of sunny weather. “Buttermilk skies and a beautiful day,” he said Christmas Eve.

In Newport Beach, the Tuesday morning sun brought hundreds to the shoreline, according to Marine Safety Officer Mike Halphide. “There are quite a bit more people out than on a usual Tuesday,” Halphide said. “There are about 2,500 people on our beaches, and at least a couple of hundred are in the water. The water temperature is 57 degrees, but if you’re from Chicago, where it’s been 22 degrees, 57 degrees isn’t all that bad.”

Inland high temperatures in Orange County were in the upper 70s, and thus slightly higher than the average for Dec. 24, forecasters said.

Nonetheless, it was cool around the bases and passes of the mountains in Orange County. For instance, in Silverado Canyon, Matt McClements, an engineer with the U.S. Forest Service, said Tuesday’s weather still had a chill: “It’s kind of brisk outside.”

WeatherData forecasters said the Orange County mountains and canyons will still be getting some cool winds today. “There will be locally occurring winds in the passes of up to 30 mph,” Erdman said. Otherwise, he said, the weather through Sunday is predicted to be a picture postcard of sunny vistas.

“Hey, don’t write about this good weather,” warned Halphide, in Newport Beach. “It’s stuff like this that just brings more people to Southern California.”