Holiday Weekend Likely to Run the Gamut of Weather

For once, Monday looks like a good day to look forward to. The weatherman predicts that a dense marine layer will crawl into the county’s inland valleys today, and cool, breezy weather will follow behind it Sunday.

But by Memorial Day, temperatures should climb into the 70s and 80s under sunny skies.

Even word of poor weather to start the weekend didn’t deter the hundreds of people streaming into area campgrounds, including the Alvarado and Wellock families, who set up their weekend hideaway at McGrath State Beach under beautiful skies Friday.

“Just getting away is the main thing,” Janelle Wellock of Santa Clarita said as her husband Dale and 11-year-old son Christopher set up a tent.

“I’m going to go to the beach, barbecue, drink some cold beer, just relax, forget about everything back home and enjoy the wildlife,” said friend Manuel Alvarado, who came with his wife Teri, stepson Chris Aviles and daughter Tiffany.

Campgrounds across the county are booked through Monday, state parks officials said. McGrath was already half full by midmorning Friday and is expected to be packed with happy campers by evening.

Meanwhile, lifeguards will be on duty throughout the weekend as they expect thousands of people to hit county beaches, especially if the weather warms up today and Sunday.

Water temperatures are at an unseasonal 65 degrees, 5 to 10 degrees above normal for this time of year.

Swimmers are advised to stay near lifeguards and be aware of rip currents, fast-moving columns of water that sweep from the shoreline out to sea.

“They’re calling for increased onshore flow, so there may be a little choppy conditions out there,” said Jack Pevler, harbor master at Channel Islands Harbor.

Indeed, water temperatures may be at midsummer levels, but calm seas are expected to give way to 3-foot surf as a weak storm system moves through the county.

Stuart Seto, weather specialist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard, said an upper level low-pressure system in the Pacific Northwest is drifting to the south and east, bringing a deepening marine layer and the possibility of drizzle well into the inland valleys today.

As the weather system moves east, north to northwest winds will settle in behind it, bringing 15- to 20-mph winds to Ventura County and 20- to 30-mph winds in Santa Barbara County on Sunday, Seto said.

Temperatures today and Sunday are expected to be in the mid-60s along the coast and mid-70s inland.

Monday’s temperatures should warm up after morning low clouds and fog burn off. Temperatures should hit the 70s along the beaches and 80s inland.

“It’s pretty much the pattern through about mid-June,” Seto said.

Meanwhile, drivers, beware. Traffic is expected to be heavy, and patrol officers will be on the lookout for drunken drivers.

The California Highway Patrol’s maximum enforcement period, when at least 80% of available officers are on duty, runs from 6 p.m. Friday through midnight Monday.

The CHP saw 25 drunken-driving arrests last Memorial Day weekend, three more than were made over the holiday in 1995.

“Realize that traffic is going to be there and it might affect you, so take your time and get to where you’re going safely,” CHP spokesman Dave Cockrill said.

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Memorial Day Observances

Memorial Day ceremonies will be held across the county Monday to honor the many U.S. military servicemen and women who gave their lives in defense of liberty. The ceremonies include speeches, hundreds of flags, multidenominational prayers, patriotic music and other activities planned to symbolize appreciation for the nation’s deceased veterans.

El Rancho Simi Community Cemetery

1461 Thompson Lane, off Royal Avenue, Simi Valley

Ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. Tribute by Harry Kundin, commander of Disabled American Veterans Chapter No. 55.

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Veterans Memorial Grove

Poindexter Park, Moorpark

Ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. Keynote speaker will be Pete Duncan, 16th District executive committeeman for the Department of California of the American Legion.

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Santa Paula Cemetery

380 Cemetery Road, Santa Paula

Ceremonies begin at 10:30 a.m. Members of the Mercer-Prieto Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 2043 will remember those who gave their lives in the Korean War.

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Ivy Lawn Memorial Park

5400 Valentine Road, Ventura

Ceremonies begin at 10:45 a.m. Keynote speaker will be David Chagall, author, journalist and political analyst. A free buffet lunch follows at Elks Lodge No. 1430, 11 S. Ash St., Ventura.

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Conejo Mountain Memorial Park

2052 Howard Road, Camarillo

Memorial services begin at 11 a.m. Keynote speaker is Daniel L. Hambrock, commanding officer of the Naval Construction Battalion Center at Port Hueneme.

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Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks

5600 Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village

Ceremonies begin at 11 a.m. Services include patriotic dramatizations of the different wars fought by American soldiers.