September summer

Lolita Harper

It wasn’t until children were forced back into the confines of school

buildings and summer was officially over that temperatures started to

scorch.

Wrapping up a mild summer, a warming trend began to hit Newport-Mesa

on Monday, the third day of fall. It is expected to last only a few days,

with cooler temperatures by the weekend.

It will end “before anyone will get a real chance to enjoy it,” said

forecaster Stan Wasowski of the National Weather Service.

Temperatures hit the mid-80s in Costa Mesa and mid-70s in Newport

Beach, Wasowski said. Evening lows will be in the 60s. However, heat

waves don’t last as long in the fall because there isn’t enough daylight

to sustain the high temperatures, Wasowski said.

But hot fall days are not rare.

Coastline cities usually get the hottest temperatures in September,

Wasowski said. Despite the sweltering temperatures, the shoreline wasn’t

crowded, Newport Beach Lifeguard Capt. Eric Bauer said. Unfortunately,

most people are either back in school or back to the daily grind, he

said.

The few people who had the luxury of basking in the strong sun are

privy to the inside knowledge that fall is the best time to hit the beach

without running into summertime crowds, Bauer said.

“It’s the secret time of the year when the weather is still nice and

the locals get their beach back for a little while until the weather gets

crummy,” Bauer said.

The heat caused more onshore winds from the ocean, which made the

waves a bit choppy, said Sean Collins, a surf forecaster with Surfline.

Although surfing conditions were less than ideal, the warm weather made

it easier to take the plunge into the cold ocean water, he said.

“It makes the water seem much more refreshing when you get in,”

Collins said.

* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 lolita.harper@latimes.comf7 .