Southern Californians flocked to the beach on Valentine’s Day as unseasonably warm temperatures baked the region. Kate Larsen reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015.
While winter-weary New England braced for another blast of cold and snow, the Southland basked Saturday in sunny skies and temperatures reaching the mid-80s in some spots.
At 3 p.m., it was 83 in downtown Los Angeles, according to the official downtown federal thermometer near USC.
A small break in the warmer-than-normal weather that's prevailed since Tuesday was expected to arrive on Sunday, said National Weather Service Meteorologist Curt Kaplan.
High pressure to the west and a high-level low stretching south into Baja has brought on-shore air flow, but those factors will diminish and winds will start coming off the ocean Sunday and some low clouds will move in on Monday night, he said.
"This will be our warmest day," Kaplan said. "We'll see a trend downward starting tomorrow."
It won't be much of a cool-down, however. The onshore flow will be weak and the mercury is forecast to rise again by Tuesday, although not dramatically, Kaplan said.
Temperatures in the mid-80s inland and upper 70s along the coast were forecast today, according to the weather service.
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The temperature in Burbank was 82 at 1 p.m., and that compares with an average for this time of year of about 68 degrees, Kaplan said.
"Overall, it's still going to be above normal for this time of year," he said of the week ahead.
Dry conditions are expected to persist, but moist fuels and low winds will mitigate the danger of wildfire, he said.
While the warm temperatures and clear blue skies made area beaches a popular Valentine's Day destination, the weather service warned of high surf, dangerous sneaker waves up to six feet high and strong rip currents along exposed west-facing shores.
