Winter Springs Right Into Summer

The last day of winter found people all over Orange County seeking escape from summer-style heat Wednesday, as record-breaking temperatures rose into the 90s in some areas and a layer of muggy, sticky haze obscured any view of the last patches of snow left on mountain peaks.

And forecasters say the heat wave is expected to continue today.

In Santa Ana the mercury reached 91 degrees Wednesday, 5 degrees over the previous record of 86 for the date set in 1960. In Anaheim the temperature was 93, the highest in the county, and in San Juan Capistrano 92. Even at the coast sea breezes were unseasonably still, driving the temperature in Newport Beach to a hotter-than-normal 74.

In fact, record temperatures were recorded throughout most of California, as far north as San Francisco, and in Arizona and Utah. The Los Angeles Civic Center high of 97 was the highest winter temperature ever recorded, said John Sherwin, a meteorologist with WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times. And Monrovia in the San Gabriel Valley was the steamiest spot in the nation with a record high of 102 degrees.

Tuning up skis on their way to escape at the slopes, varnishing sailboats and searching out patches of shade, county residents found creative ways to cope with the heat.

“It’s definitely gonna be cool, both temperature and ski-wise,” said 34-year-old Scott Snitker of his trip out of this week’s heat

wave and into the mountains. An inspector at an oil refinery in Wilmington, Snitker was at a ski shop in sweltering Tustin on his lunch hour getting his ski bindings adjusted and dreaming of the cold.

“I need it--that fresh air, that chill. It’s a good week to get out of here, as it turns out,” Snitker said.

Others found shelter without leaving home.

“I escape the heat every minute I’m out here,” said Gary Jackson, sipping a beer in the warmth of the day on his sailboat berthed in Newport Harbor. A 47-year-old fire captain for the city of Brea, Jackson has lived on the water for about a year.

“In the winter time, it’s not too spiffy. It gets real small, real fast. But I get a $10-million view,” Jackson said. “And you don’t have any need for air conditioning.”

The heat owes to a strong ridge of high pressure pushing inland from the eastern Pacific and spreading across Southern California, Sherwin said. High pressure causes winds to move downward through the atmosphere, compressing and heating the air, he said.

“It’s like pumping hot air into a bicycle pump--when you force air into a small tube your bike tube gets warm. That’s similar to what is happening in Orange County. As the air descends, the molecules circulate faster, generating heat.”

Sherwin predicted the heat will linger today but begin to cool along the coast on Friday. While temperatures are expected to remain high in some inland areas of the Los Angeles region through the weekend, even the hottest areas of Orange County should cool off by Friday, he said.

While many found the high temperatures reason for complaint, others welcomed it. Freeways and major roadway routes to beaches were jammed for midweek, and the scene on Balboa Peninsula beaches resembled a summer Saturday, with in-line skaters, cyclists and sun worshipers crowding the shores.

All that seemed too far away for comfort to Steve Whaley, 37, a construction worker who spent his day grading a hot patch of dirt in Irvine.

“It’s just muggy, sticky, kind of unbearable,” Whaley said. “If this is the last day of winter, and this is how hot it’s gonna be, I’m kind of apprehensive about summer.”

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Hot Stuff

The last day of winter broke heat records in Orange County, with temperatures reaching into the 90s from north county to south. Santa Ana’s high of 91 broke a record of 86, set in 1960. Wednesday temperatures and Santa Ana comparative readings for March 19:

Around the County

Anaheim 93

Dana Point 83

Laguna Beach 88

Lake Forest 89

Newport Beach 74

San Juan Capistrano 92

Santa Ana March 19 Comparative

Wednesday’s high 91

Former March 19 high 86 (1960)

Normal 69

Last year 73

Warmer Year

If you have the feeling that this year has been warmer than normal, you’re right. Orange County temperatures since Feb. 1 have been higher then last year and warmer than normal, as well. One factor: Last year’s rains kept temperatures slightly cooler. The trend in Santa Ana’s average daily temperatures:

1996 average: 68.1 degrees

1997 average: 72.7 degrees

Normal Average: 68.8 degrees

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Forecast

Temperatures will moderate slightly, with a high of 88 in Santa Ana today. Increasing sea breezes will help cooling trend. Watch for morning fog and clouds to burn off by midday.

Source: WeatherData Inc.; Researched by APRIL JACKSON / Los Angeles Times