Newport has record heat

Marisa O’Neil

Record-breaking heat brought people to the beach en masse on Monday

when temperatures hit 82 in Newport Beach, surpassing the previous

record of 77 in 1944, according to the National Weather Service.

The heat followed Sunday’s scorcher, which broke the 52-year-old

record high of 83 at John Wayne Airport with a high of 87.

Monday’s hot, sunny weather brought people to water in droves to

find some relative cool, at least when compared to even higher

temperatures inland.

“It was too hot,” 11-year-old beachgoer Celina Price said of her

home in Irvine.

A half-day of school allowed Celina and her cousins, Adrian and

Andrew Mendoza, 9 and 4, to escape the heat and enjoy the beach. The

children dug in the sand, building a castle by the water’s edge.

Sun seekers faced beach traffic and few open parking spaces on

their way to Newport Beach Monday. But that seemed to dissuade few

people, judging by the crowds filling the sand by the Newport Pier.

“It’s like a weekday summer day,” Lifeguard Capt. Eric Bauer said.

“It’s very nice and people are having a great time.”

That great time led to a few rescues, he said, but no serious

incidents. A southwest swell brought a little bit of a rip current

for those hoping to cool off with a dip in the Pacific.

The sunny weather seemed tailor-made for a day at the beach. Beach

cruiser bicycles rolled down the boardwalk, novices paddled out on

longboards and families sheltered in the shade of beach umbrellas.

A high-pressure system kept the marine layer at bay, bringing the

warmer weather, said Mark Moede of the National Weather Service in

San Diego. Temperatures will drop significantly for the rest of the

week, he said, reaching only the mid-70s by the coast today and

mid-60s Wednesday.

The cooler weather will likely bring relief to the state’s power

grid, which saw a Stage 1 Emergency Monday afternoon. Power reserves

fell below 7%, prompting Southern California Edison to urge

conservation, said Edison spokeswoman Jane Brown.

The warm weather caused an increased demand, which should be eased

by lower temperatures, she said.