Winter chill returns to Orange County’s coast this week

After a brief reprieve from the cold that accompanied recent storms, it appears winter isn’t quite done with Orange County.

Blustering winds were expected to make their way throughout Southern California Tuesday with winds traveling up to about 40 to 45 mph in some parts of coastal Orange County, including Huntington Beach and Newport Beach. The winds are expected to begin fairly early in the day and ramp up by late afternoon.

But while the winds, which prompted some warnings in other parts of the state, are expected to die down by Wednesday morning, the cold they bring with them won’t dissipate quite as quickly.

Brian Adams, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service station in San Diego, said temperatures are expected to drop substantially Wednesday and Thursday. Lows will be down to the 40s for much of Orange County, including the coastal cities, Adams said, noting that inland cities of the county — such as Yorba Linda — will see temperatures drop to lows of the upper 30s.

“The big reason for this [temperature drop] is we have a pretty potent upper level system that’s diving into the Los Angeles Basin just to our north; so, that’s bringing with it a lot of really, really cold air,” Adams said Monday. “If you were to trace back where this system is coming from, … [it] basically started out in the Gulf of Alaska and the Northwest territories to dive straight toward us.”

Wednesday and Thursday are expected to be the coldest days of the week. Coastal O.C. should expect daytime highs ranging from 60 to 64 on both days, according to forecasts.

Adams said that temperatures are expected to climb back up again this weekend, but residents shouldn’t expect temperatures to be significantly warmer. Lows will still remain in the 40s, though highs may climb to the low to mid-60s by the weekend.

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