Near-Record Highs Keep Season Toasty

There may be a few more red noses out there than usual in this week before Christmas, but don’t blame it on the sometimes nippy weather.

Blame it on the sun.

At 84 degrees, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks were the hottest places in the nation on Thursday. On Friday, Simi Valley missed beating a record by one degree, when its high was posted at 86 degrees.

In response, some Ventura residents are considering getting out the sunscreen.

“I just realized when I was looking in the mirror that I’m starting to get freckles on my nose,” said Jody Donovan, 20, who was reading a book in Plaza Park in downtown Ventura on Friday afternoon. “Maybe I should think about that sun block.”

However, weather officials say although it’s been balmy, the temperatures aren’t unusual.

“I wouldn’t say these temperatures are atypical,” said Jonathan Slemmer, meteorologist for the National Weather Service. “If the atmospheric pattern is just right, these parts of Southern California can get extremely warm, compared to anywhere else in the country at this time of year.”

On Friday, temperatures in Oxnard registered a high of 77 degrees, Ventura came in at 76 and in the east county the mercury reached into the high 80s.

Oxnard’s usual temperatures would be about 10 degrees lower, while normal temperatures in the east county would run between the mid-70s and 80s.

“That is really hot, but what do you expect? We’re in Southern California,” said Bill Hoffer, meteorologist with National Weather Service.

On the same day a year ago, Simi Valley set the high with temperatures reaching 87 degrees, he said.

Lounging on his back at the Plaza Park, Cliff Lauterbach said he was supposed to be at a job interview but decided to skip it and hang out on the grass.

“This day is just too gorgeous,” he said. “I was planning to make it to the bus stop in a round-about way through the park.”

Temperatures are expected to remain steady throughout the county, Slemmer said. “We are not having any wind flow from the ocean, and we are under a warm air mass with lots of sunshine, so things are heating up. We are not getting the Santa Ana conditions, which would then be followed by cooler temperatures. So things will stay about the same.”

Although accurate weather predictions don’t extend past five days, as things look now, he said, the county will have a sunny, clear, dry Christmas. And that is just fine with many residents.

“This would be swell Christmas weather,” said Chris Drury, who was working in Simi Valley for Alliance Construction. It was hot enough for many in the crew to take off their shirts and act as if it were summer, instead of December, he said.

“But I’ve been living in California all my life, so this is normal for me.”