Yorba Linda Hottest at 114; Chilly 18 in Tustin

Just as Orange County’s topography ranges from the heights of Santiago Peak to the sands of its beaches, local weather too can run to extremes.

In recent decades, Yorba Linda appears to hold the record for the hottest temperature: a sweltering 114 degrees on Sept. 1, 1955, according to WeatherData, which supplies The Times with its weather information.

Sept. 26, 1963, marked another blistering day throughout the county. The Tustin Ranch and Irvine areas reached 111 degrees and Santa Ana came in at 110. Even Laguna Beach sweltered at 108 degrees.

On the other end of the thermometer, Tustin recorded one of the coldest days on the books Jan. 21, 1937, when the temperature dropped to 18 degrees. Laguna Beach also experienced one of the county’s more chilling days, dipping to 21 degrees on Jan. 5, 1949, according to WeatherData statistics.

Between typical sunny days, Orange County has weathered pounding rainstorms.

Last season, from July 1, 1996, through June 30, the county’s wettest place was Santiago Peak--elevation 5,638 feet--with 51.8 inches of rain. The rain total was more than the peak’s 33.72-inch average, but far from its wettest year. That record came in 1992-93, when the peak received 90.64 inches of rain, according to the county’s Environmental Management Agency.

Closer to home, precipitation figures last year were on par with the average rainfall amounts in Orange County, with Santa Ana at 13.53 inches, Costa Mesa at 12.27 inches, Los Alamitos at 10.6 inches and Newport Harbor at 10.61 inches.