LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Warmer than usual temperatures are expected to continue through the weekend, 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.
The NWS forecast sunny skies today and highs of 70 on Mount Wilson; 71 in Palmdale; 72 in Lancaster; 74 in Avalon; 80 in Saugus; 80 at LAX; 77 in Long Beach; 84 in San Gabriel and Burbank; 81 in Woodland Hills; 83 in Pasadena; and 85 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.
However, Sunday's temperatures will revert to the 60s in most areas, according to an NWS forecast.
Sunny skies were also forecast in Orange County, along with highs of 67 on Santiago Peak; 66 on Ortega Highway at 2,600 feet; 73 in San Clemente; 78 in Laguna Beach; 86 at Fremont Canyon; 82 in Newport Beach; 83 at Trabuco Canyon; 85 in Yorba Linda; 83 in Mission Viejo; 84 in Fullerton; 84 in Anaheim; and 82 in Irvine. The pattern will then be about the same as in L.A. County with a sharp retreat on Sunday.
Strong winds, meanwhile will continue 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 from Sunday afternoon until Monday morning in the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains and the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys. The NWS says the strongest winds will be blowing through the San Gabriels and Santa Monicas and the Antelope Valley Freeway (14) corridor.
Photo: Getty Images