Southland Weekend to Be Dry, Warm--and a Bit Breezy

A slow increase of air pressure over the West will produce a dry, warm, windy--and beautiful--weekend in Southern California, the National Weather Service said Thursday.

Clouds that have kept the Southland cool and a bit damp for the last couple of weekends are being pushed out to sea, and the northeast flow of warm air from the deserts is expected to generate Santa Ana winds, boosting temperatures 10 degrees or more by Sunday afternoon.

High temperature at Los Angeles Civic Center on Thursday was 70 degrees, with relative humidity ranging from 80% to 36%, but forecasters predicted afternoon highs in the low 80s by Sunday--with low humidity.

Small craft advisories were in effect Thursday for northwest winds rising to 25 knots at times in the inner waters from Point Conception to the Mexican border--and for 30 knot northwest winds in the outer waters, where combined seas were hitting 10 feet at times.

Mountain and high desert travelers advisories were issued for 25 to 35 m.p.h. northwest winds Thursday--all expected to swing northeasterly for a true Santa Ana condition by tonight.