Fourth of July Weekend is here

The Fourth of July is Monday, which means we have a long, hot weekend ahead. This will be perfect weather in Southern California for spending time with the family. Triple A says five million Californians will be traveling for vacations this weekend so first rule, if you’re driving: be careful out there.

Most of the inland Los Angeles area will see temperatures in the mid 80s for the next ten days with little to no clouds. Some areas, like Griffith Park, will be slightly cooler, in the high 70’s to low 80s, but for most of the area expect temps to be nice and warm to very hot.

As you go farther east towards the deserts in Riverside and San Bernardino counties the temperatures will climb to the 90s to above 100°f. Baker, for instance, will be at least 108°f on Monday and could get even hotter. It is expected to reach 111°f by Thursday next week.

In Orange County — Anaheim, Irvine, Santa Ana — the temps will be similar to Los Angeles: high 70s to low 80s. In San Diego County inland expect the temperatures to be in the low to mid 80s with partly cloudy skies. The farther east you go the hotter it will be; El Cajon will be in the high 80s to low 90s. And Imperial County will see temps over 100. Throughout Southern California the winds will be light to moderate for most of the holiday weekend.

So you may want to spend some time at one of the many beaches up and down the coast. All the beaches, from the border with Mexico north through Los Angeles County will be in the low to mid 70s. In San Diego and Orange Counties there will be partly cloudy skies for at least part of the weekend, but expect to have a nice warm day — or weekend — at the beach.

If you surf expect moderate conditions with waves being waist to chest high, but if you’re a surfer you probably check the conditions daily for your spots.

Water temperatures are in the mid to high 60s along the entire coastline. For a spectacular sight head to La Jolla Shores in San Diego for the female leopard sharks congregating in the warm shallows. They are getting ready to have their young and are swarming the area because of that warmer water.

Leopard sharks are relatively harmless. They are usually 4-6 feet in length and (almost) never attack humans. They eat small fish and we don’t qualify. They do however have predators. If you act like a predator to them they may try to defend themselves. So, don’t reach for them, don’t dart at them quickly, just float and they will swim around you. Considering they are sharing the area with swimmers, surfers, kayakers and scuba divers, it is quite a sight.

The Shores are a much better bet than La Jolla Cove these days. Between the marine birds and sea lions, the Cove has become a stinky, noisy and possibly unhealthy place to be right now. There is a colony of nearly 300 sea lions that now calls La Jolla Cove home and they excrete so much poop and urine into the water and on the rocks it is causing local authorities to be concerned about the water quality.

Not to mention some males have been very aggressive, biting and nipping at people in the water and on the beach. Tourists are flocking to the area to see these animals, despite the horrible odor, and some have the idea they are just like they’ve seen in Disney movies. As one man put it in a local publication, “Humans are willing to pet anything until they get bit.”

Sea lions, seals and other marine mammals are wild animals, despite what you might see in cute TV commercials or at theme parks. The sea lions are territorial and will defend their territory — La Jolla Cove in this case — against all intruders.

But other than La Jolla Cove and Casa Cove, which is just south of La Jolla Cove, the beaches in Southern California will be very human friendly this weekend.

Have fun, enjoy the weekend and celebrate Independence Day — the day, not the movie, although you can see that at most area theaters this weekend. Monday we will be commemorating our nation’s 240^th birthday.

Wherever you spend it, however you do it, have a Happy 4th of July.

All photos by Tim Forkes