Coming Soon: Dry Air and Sun

Here comes the sun.

It might not get here today, maybe not even tomorrow, but meteorologists say the series of storms that have pounded Orange County this month, bringing more than 14 inches of rain already this season, are subsiding and sunshine is slowly on its way.

“It will probably stay partly cloudy through Monday and Tuesday, with maybe some patchy fog, but the good news is it will be dry and start to warm up slowly,� said Curtis Brack, a meteorologist for WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times. “By later this week, it should be mostly sunny and warmer with maybe some offshore breezes. But you should have seen the last of the rain for a while.�

The sunshine could bring the temperatures up into the 70-degree neighborhood, perhaps even into the 80s by the end of the week, Brack said.

The high temperature recorded in the county on Sunday was 67 degrees in Dana Point. Other highs included 64 degrees in Santa Ana, 63 degrees in Lake Forest, 59 degrees in Newport Beach, 58 in Anaheim and 56 degrees in San Juan Capistrano.

The storm that hit the county Saturday night and continued through Sunday brought 2.1 inches of rain to San Juan Capistrano and 1.15 inches to Dana Point.

For the season, the rainfall total in Santa Ana has already jumped up to 14.29 inches, compared with the 2.66 inches last year at this time, Brack said. Normal for this time of year is 6.32 inches, and 12.53 inches for the entire season, which runs from July through June.

The weekend storm also brought solid 5-foot surf to county beaches, some sets much larger, lifeguards said. At the Huntington Beach Pier on Sunday afternoon, surfers were being treated to hollow waves and good to excellent conditions, said lifeguard John Beebe.

“It’s looking really good right now,� Beebe said at 4:15 p.m. Sunday. “We have had some waves come through with 10-, 11-, maybe 12-foot faces. There are definitely some hollow, overhead sets coming though.�

Beebe said the water temperature was a cool 58 degrees.

Brack predicted temperatures in the mid-to-upper 60s today and Tuesday, with overnight lows dropping into the mid-40 degree range. By Thursday or Friday, the highs could near 80 degrees, particularly in the inland areas, he said.