A Good Forecast for Travelers

People traveling in Orange County this weekend can expect beautiful weather and relatively light traffic.

“As far as we can tell, it’s not going to be as bad as a typical three-day weekend,” said Marie Montgomery, a spokeswoman for the Automobile Club of Southern California. “People have more options as to when they can travel. We expect the traffic to be more spread out.”

Still, she advised that motorists check on the status of their planned routes by calling Caltrans’ frequently updated highway information line: (800) 427-7623. And she reminded drivers to get at least six hours of sleep before driving.

Those who travel will do so under sunny skies and in above-normal temperatures. “It’s not going to seem like winter, that’s for sure,” said Stacey Johnstone, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which supplies forecasts for The Times. Orange County highs through the weekend should range from the upper 60s to mid-70s, she said, with lows in the middle to upper 40s.

The holiday’s heaviest traffic was likely to have been Thursday as people scrambled to get out of town, said Mark Reeves, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol. Some streets and freeways are expected to be congested about 5 p.m.today with last-minute Christmas shoppers and commuters.

Even so, Reeves said, “we’re not really expecting a whole lot of heavy traffic. Christmas Day should be light, then maybe heavier traffic Sunday evening when people start coming home.”

Those flying instead of driving likely saw big crowds Thursday at John Wayne Airport, where officials were expecting 25,000 passengers. Traffic on an ordinary day is about 19,000, spokeswoman Nghia Nguyen said. The number of travelers today is projected at about 20,000, she said, with just 16,000 people expected on Christmas Day. Sunday’s passenger count probably will be back at about 20,000.