Santa Anas whip up few problems

Marisa O’Neil

Gusty Santa Ana winds swept through the area Thursday and Friday,

bringing warm temperatures but no significant damage.

Even the large surf expected Friday from a large west-northwest

swell didn’t pan out, lifeguards said. Waves stayed in the 3- to

5-foot range, Newport Beach Lifeguard Lt. Brent Jacobsen said.

The warm weather brought more surfers and others to the beach.

The swell was predicted to bring rip currents to the area, but

Newport Beach wasn’t hit by the high surf, Jacobsen said, and no

rescues were reported.

The National Weather Service issued a high-wind warning for

mountain areas Friday morning, but the winds didn’t blow people over

in Newport-Mesa.

Local police and fire departments received no calls about wind

damage.

“We got away pretty unscathed,” Newport Beach Police Sgt. Mark

Hamilton said. “The last time [we had high winds], a lot of trees

went down.”

A couple of boats drifted slightly from their moorings in Newport

Harbor but were realigned without any problems, said Orange County

Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol Deputy J.C. Roberts.

In Costa Mesa, amateur weather spotter Chuck Doucot, who reports

his measurements to the National Weather Service, estimated some wind

gusts made it up to 45 miles per hour.

But even with those speeds, the brunt of the damage around town

seemed restricted to a few fallen tree branches and blown-down signs.

But the offshore Santa Ana winds blew in warm temperatures.

Doucot recorded a high temperature of 83 degrees in Costa Mesa

Friday.

That’s far from the 36-degree low he measured on Dec. 1.

Newport Beach reached a high of 73 on Friday and 79 at John Wayne

Airport, said Brad Doyle, a forecaster with the National Weather

Service.

Laguna Beach recorded a record high of 78 on Friday, topping the

1985 record of 76, he said.

High temperatures are expected to be in the 70s through Monday

with lows in the 40s, according to the National Weather Service.

Things will cool down slightly starting Tuesday, with temperatures

reaching only the upper 60s or low 70s, forecasters said.