O.C. Temps To Climb Above Normal

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Temperatures are expected to climb Friday to levels considerably above normal throughout Orange County, forecasters said.

The unseasonable heat is the product of a ridge on interior high pressure combined with an offshore flow, said National Weather Service meteorologist Kristen Stewart in Oxnard.

NWS forecast sunny skies Friday in the area, along with highs of 59 on Santiago Peak; 70 on Ortega Highway at 2,600 feet; 71 in San Clemente; 73 in Laguna Beach; 75 at Fremont Canyon; 76 in Newport Beach; 78 at Trabuco Canyon; 79 in Yorba Linda; 80 in Mission Viejo and Fullerton; 81 in Anaheim; and 82 in Irvine.

The pattern will be about the same in Los Angeles County with sunny skies Friday and highs of 66 on Mount Wilson; 68 in Palmdale; 69 in Lancaster; 72 in Avalon; 74 in Saugus; 77 at LAX; 78 in Long Beach; 79 in San Gabriel and Burbank; 80 in Woodland Hills and Pasadena; and 81 in Downtown L.A.

Stewart said areas where temperatures will be 80 degrees are normally in the upper 60s at this time of the year.

NWS meteorologist Brandt Maxwell in San Diego said the same, adding that a warm air mass such as the region is now experiencing is typically the outcome of an offshore flow.

The weather pattern will then be about the same Saturday with a sharp retreat on Sunday.

Strong winds, meanwhile, continued to whip across the Southland, with the NWS reporting northeast winds of 20-30 miles per hour accompanied by gusts of up to 50 mph. A wind advisory will be in effect until noon in the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains and the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys. The NWS says the strongest winds are blowing through the San Gabriels and Santa Monicas and the Antelope Valley Freeway (14) corridor.

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--City News Service contributed to this post