Cooler 4th of July expected

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT-MESA -- Weather wise, it’s gearing up to be a fairly mild

Fourth of July.

Heading toward the holiday, temperatures won’t heat up too much for

those headed to Newport Beach. But Costa Mesa and other inland cities are

expected to be somewhat warmer.

The trend is expected to follow the past several days, according to

Noel Isla, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.

“The next couple of days look rather similar to what we’ve seen the

last couple of days,” Isla said. “The warming trend should continue

through the week.”

Beachgoers have already been taking advantage of mild to warm weather

to hit the Newport Beach coastline. Over the weekend, the city’s beaches

were well-used, Newport Beach Police Sgt. Mark Everton said.

“It was moderately heavy,” Everton said. “We had quite a few people in

town.”

A southerly, moist flow of air from a large high-pressure system

centered around the Four Corners states -- Utah, Colorado, Arizona and

New Mexico -- is responsible for the mild temperatures.

Isla said temperatures won’t rise much above 75 degrees Fahrenheit in

Newport Beach and other coastal cities today and Wednesday. Further

inland, the temperature isn’t expected to touch 90 degrees, but it will

probably reach about 85 degrees.

Forecasters expect patchy low clouds that will provide protection from

the scorching sun.

While the air has been somewhat moist, and will continue to be, it

will also continue to be warm, weather-watchers said.

Dan Atkins, a meteorologist at the weather service, said Newport-Mesa

residents could even expect some light, but warm, sprinkles.

“It’s just a generally warm air mass,” Atkins said. “It’s a little bit

humid.”

Even with a nexus of warm, mild weather and the Fourth of July

holiday, Newport Beach police don’t expect Wednesday to get too chaotic.

Officers will concentrate on the notorious West Newport area,

especially Seashore Drive, from about 32nd Street to 49th Street.

With beach access to Huntington Beach cut off this year by that city,

some of the crowds could overflow into Newport Beach. But Everton said

it’s not expected to generate too many problems.

“I’m sure [the Fourth of July] is going to be a capacity crowd,”

Everton said. “Historically speaking, we’ve always had a not-so-busy

Fourth if it’s in the middle of the week.”