Warm Days, Cloudy Skies on Tap for 4th of July Weekend

Orange County can count on moderately warm days and partly cloudy skies through the entire Fourth of July weekend, weather forecasters said Thursday.

“There’s a high front standing still in the Gulf of Alaska, and it’s keeping all the stormy weather up to the Northwest,” said Dan Bowman, meteorologist for WeatherData, the Kansas-based company that makes weather forecasts for The Times.

“Down in Orange County, your weather will not change over the weekend,” he said, adding with a laugh that the county can safely bet on not having rain on its holiday weekend. “Orange County hasn’t had rain on the Fourth of July for the past 39 years,” he said.

Coastal Orange County cities can expect high temperatures in the upper 60s over the holiday weekend, with lows in the low-60s, the forecasters said. High temperatures will be at least 10 degrees warmer in inland Orange County, according to the meteorologists.

Bowman said Thursday’s weather in Orange County was fairly typical of what will be on tap through the weekend. The high in Santa Ana was 78 degrees, up from a low of 64. El Toro also posted a high of 78 degrees and a low of 61. San Juan Capistrano had a high of 75 degrees and a low of 66. Newport Beach reached a high of 67 degrees, up from a low of 63.

Forecasters said most of Southern California will enjoy a good-weather holiday weekend.

Aside from some early-morning coastal fog, the Fourth of July weekend will be mostly sunny, with high temperatures ranging from the 70s along the coast to the 90s inland, forecasters said.

The northern deserts will top out at 105, and the southern deserts will range from 100 to 112.

About the only possible disruption to an otherwise ideal weekend is the remote chance that mountain and desert areas could see some isolated thunderstorms as early as Sunday, said Dave Beusterien, another WeatherData meteorologist. High temperatures in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains will range from 75 and 85 under mostly sunny skies. It will be even hotter in the Sierra, with Bishop and the Owens Valley seeing peak readings between 95 and 105.

High temperatures in Los Angeles County are expected to be somewhat warmer than those forecast for Orange County over the weekend. Some inland parts of Los Angeles County are predicted to have highs in the 90s during the holiday period.

Mariners will find light, variable winds turning west to southwest from 10 to 15 knots in inner coastal waters from Point Conception to the Mexican border, the National Weather Service said. Two-foot seas will have southerly 5-foot swells, and occasional 7-foot breakers will hit south-facing beaches. Outer coastal waters from Point Conception out to 60 nautical miles will have variable winds between 5 and 10 knots and 4-foot seas. Southwest swells will reach 8 feet.

Travelers to the Bay Area will also find coastal low clouds and fog in the morning, and high temperatures will be very similar to those in the south--60s to mid-70s along the coast, and 80s to 90s inland.