Temperatures Don’t Know the Meaning of Fall

As temperatures soared in Orange County on Sunday, beach-goers took advantage of a hot spell that forecasters said could hang on most of this week.

Santa Ana reached 96 degrees by Sunday afternoon--one degree short of the record for that date in 1950, said John Sherwin, a meteorologist with WeatherData, which provides forecasts to The Times.

But just north of the county line, Long Beach reached 98 degrees, breaking the 1976 record of 97, meteorologist Jon Erdman said.

Records tied Sunday were in Fullerton, 97 degrees; and John Wayne Airport, 91.

Anaheim recorded a high of 99 degrees--hot but not a record. El Toro Marine Corps Air Station peaked at 91 degrees, San Juan Capistrano at 92, and Newport Beach at 84 as ocean breezes brought some relief.

“You basically have the perfect recipe for a heat wave right now,” Sherwin said of the desert winds and high pressure system over Southern California. “And it’s not going anywhere for at least a few more days.”

While temperatures are expected to drop gradually throughout the week, more records could be broken by Wednesday, Sherwin said. Highs are expected in the mid-70s along the beaches today, with temperatures in the mid-90s for Anaheim, Fullerton and Santa Ana.

Patchy fog and cooler temperatures may arrive Wednesday morning, as winds shift slightly to a more on-shore flow pattern, Sherwin said.

“Still, you’ll be way above normal for this time of year,” he said.

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More than five times as many people as usual went to Huntington City Beach on Sunday, prompting lifeguards to open six towers instead of the usual two for this time of year, officials said. An estimated 20,000 visitors were swimming, skating or stretching out on the sand by 1 p.m.

“The 68-degree water temperature is keeping them cool,” lifeguard Matt Karl said of the crowds. “You can’t beat it.”

Orange County Fire Authority officials were less enthusiastic about the unusually hot, dry weather. Even without the Santa Ana winds that recently fueled the Baker Canyon Fire, which burned more than 5,500 acres, the conditions remain “ripe” for disaster, Capt. Scott Brown said.

“What we need is a little over an inch of rain in a short period of time, a good rain soak, if you will,” Brown said. “The small amounts we’ve had have done nothing more than dust off the plants.”