Heating Trend To Bring Warm Easter Weekend To Laguna Beach

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Afternoons will run unseasonably warm over Easter weekend in SoCal, climbing as high as 10 degrees above average in some areas by Sunday.

Celebrating the "abundant sunshine," the National Weather Service noted temperatures were already tracking above normal Thursday. After a slight dip Friday, they will continue to spike.

But enjoy it while it lasts: Cooler days are due by the middle of next week.

Friday is a bit of an outlier as forecasters expect a passing system will "briefly pause the warming" for most areas before picking up momentum again over the weekend. While things should stay mostly sunny, Santa Ana winds may kick up a few gusts around Orange County Friday and Saturday.

"Warming will resume and continue for the entire forecast area on Saturday, continuing to warm through Sunday for areas west of the mountains and through at least Monday for the deserts," NWS San Diego wrote Thursday. "Highs on Tuesday will be similar to Monday in the deserts, with the potential for it to be a degree or two warmer for portions of the low deserts."

A similar trend is in the forecast around Orange County, though a few low clouds may develop over the coasts and valleys. By Sunday, afternoon highs should land comfortably in the mid-70s around in Orange County proper, hitting the low 80s in Riverside and San Bernardino, and breaching 90 degrees in Palm Springs.

San Diego will run on the cooler end, potentially falling just shy of 70 degrees Sunday. Residents there can also expect patchy fog developing each night in the forecast period before clearing up for sunny afternoons. Los Angeles will pick up the overnight fog by Sunday night and repeat the trend onward into next week.

Forecasters are keeping an eye on the midweek timeframe for the next round of active weather.

"For the middle to end of next week, global models are showing another, potentially more robust low-pressure system moving across the West Coast," forecasters said Thursday. "There are still some notable differences in the timing and position of the low between global models. At the very least, this system will bring cooler, cloudier, and windier conditions to the area."

At this point, the National Weather Service said models show just slight precipitation accompanying that system.