Mugginess Sticks Around Orange County

A sprinkling of morning rain over parts of Orange County gave residents temporary relief from skyrocketing temperatures Monday but left behind stifling humidity.

“It feels muggy outside, like Hawaii or some tropical place,” said Andrew Wayne, 31, of Huntington Beach, who took refuge with his children at South Coast Plaza’s indoor carousel area.

Wayne, whose home is not air-conditioned, said he spent the morning surfing, then took over baby-sitting so his wife could shop in the mall.

“It’s nice and cool in here,” Wayne said. “A welcome relief.”

At 12:30 p.m., the humidity in Lake Forest was 46%, with a temperature of 84 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Fullerton had 61% humidity and 82 degrees; Santa Ana, 58% and 82 degrees.

It wasn’t much cooler at the beaches. While Huntington Beach had an afternoon high of 76, according to marine safety officials, the high in Newport Beach was 80 and in Seal Beach, 86.

Porscha Blankenbecker of San Clemente took her 5-year-old son, Tanner, to South Coast Plaza to chill out.

“It was either this or sit in the car all day,” said Blankenbecker, who has air-conditioning in her vehicle but not in her home. “We live by the beach, so it’s not that bad. But the humidity makes me feel tired, sticky and dirty. We usually have the fans going all the time. My choice is just to stay indoors.”

The early morning rain, which had only a brief cooling effect, came as a surprise.

“You could easily go with no rain in August,” said Jeff House, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which supplies forecasts to The Times. “It is a bit unusual for this time of year.”

Orange County had only one such one day last year--Aug. 24, when Santa Ana received 0.01 of an inch of rain, House said.

Monday’s showers sprinkled Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Corona del Mar with a trace of rain. House said the precipitation was the result of a moisture surge from the southeast and is expected to be confined to mountain areas today.

Forecasters called for partly cloudy skies today, and warm with chance of thunderstorms.

Lt. John Blauer, spokesman for the Newport Beach Fire and Marine Safety Department, said, “There were some heavy individual drops, enough to get the street wet but not to make any puddles.”

The rain, he said, “didn’t stop anybody from going to the beach.” He estimated that 45,000 people streamed into town to beat the heat.

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Humid in O.C.

It was undeniably humid Monday, but relative humidity as listed in weather reports is not the most reliable measure of atmospheric moisture. The dew point--which measures moisture in the air--is a more accurate indicator.

Dew point highs registered on Monday:

New Orleans - 78

Miami - 77

New York - 74

Fullerton - 69

Santa Ana - 68

Las Vegas - 56

*normal O.C. - mid-50s to low 60s

Source: WeatherData