Wind blows, but today it goes

Marisa O’Neil

If you were still wearing your Easter bonnet Thursday, hopefully you

had a good grip on it.

Wicked Santa Ana winds whipped through the area, flinging fronds

and blowing brush. The stiff breeze is expected to die down today,

but the warm temperatures should stick around, forecasters said.

Thursday’s winds may have wreaked havoc on many coiffed heads, but

did little other substantial damage, according to police.

Newport Beach police kept busy with the typical increased number

of residential burglar alarms that go hand-in-hand with high winds,

Sgt. Steve Shulman said.

Winds at the beach started off Thursday with gusts up to 20 miles

per hour and then tapered off throughout the day, Newport Beach

Lifeguard Lt. Jon Mitchell said.

Temperatures at the beach hovered around a near-perfect 75

degrees, he said.

A spring break crowd of about 20,000 people found their way to the

shore, he said. But the 55-degree water kept them close to the sand.

“Most of the people would wade about knee-deep in the water and

come back out,” Mitchell said. “The people who had the chance to get

off work or get off school had a really great time.”

The National Weather Service issued a small craft advisory until 6

p.m. Thursday and 6 p.m. today.

The high Santa Ana winds are expected to dwindle today, but the

warm temperatures that come with them will stay, said National

Weather Service forecaster Stan Wasowski.

Temperatures will be in the low-to-mid 80s today, according to the

National Weather Service. They’ll drop about 10 degrees on Saturday.