Hurricane Could Spawn Some Rain

There could be a little rain in the Southland, the forecasters said Friday as they watched powerful Hurricane Ramon churning the Pacific 500 miles southwest of Baja California, but they did not all agree on when it might show up.

The National Weather Service concluded that some of the moisture associated with Ramon will not begin moving northward ahead of an offshore, low-pressure trough until about Sunday.

“And this poses a chance of rain or showers in the Southland Monday, as the offshore low accelerates inland,” said Dion Hamilton of the weather service.

WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times, foresaw the possibility of some Southern California sprinkles earlier than that.

“We still think there is a chance you could get some late in the day on Sunday,” said meteorologist Janice Roth.

She called it “a small chance.”

In the meantime, Ramon was about to add to the surf already being stirred up along Southland beaches by a storm off faraway New Zealand. Coastal property owners were warned to stay alert over the weekend.

As for the weather in general, there should be night and morning low clouds with hazy sunshine in the afternoons today and Sunday. The high downtown Los Angeles temperature today will be about 80 degrees, and on Sunday it should be in the upper 70s.

High Reading

Friday’s high reading at the Civic Center was 76 after an overnight low of 65. The high relative humidity was 75%, and the low was 52%.

That storm off New Zealand has been pushing a swell of about two feet toward Southern California beaches and is expected to keep doing so for a few more days, the weather service said. With the arrival of three-foot swells from Hurricane Ramon south of Cabo San Lucas, breakers averaging about five feet can be expected today on south-facing beaches.

There should be occasional sets to eight feet.

“Swimming or surfing in these waves may be dangerous for anyone except expert swimmers,” warned the weather service. “People who are fishing or observing the waves from exposed coastal structures should be alert for occasional--much larger than average--waves which can suddenly sweep across previously dry areas.”

High tide at Los Angeles Harbor this morning will be about six feet. On Sunday, it will be about 5 1/2 feet, occurring about 10 a.m.

Although the weather service foresaw “little chance for damage at the present time,” it cautioned coastal property owners to keep their ears open “in case a heavy surf advisory is issued.”

The high surf conditions are expected to last through Monday.