Southland gets ice cream weather

Andrew Edwards

Driving along Pacific Coast Highway in his Lexus convertible, Bob

Tucci decided to do something he had not done for more than a decade.

“It’s so hot that I haven’t stopped at this milkshake stand in 11

years,” Tucci said after ordering a cold dessert at the Crystal Cove

Shake Shack.

Tucci, who lives in Aliso Viejo, wasn’t the only person who

stopped by the coastal snack stand late Thursday afternoon. He was

followed by a group that included Costa Mesa resident Ashley Hermans,

driving south to visit the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach.

“We come here every time we go down to Laguna, especially when

it’s hot,” Hermans said. “It tastes better when it’s hot.”

The seemingly sweltering temperature wasn’t enough to create a

noticeable uptick in business for the shake shack. Employee Liz Ruiz

said the work pace was business as usual Thursday.

A natural response to the heat could be to turn on the air

conditioning full blast and bask in the manufactured cool breeze.

However, electrical grid managers with the Folsom-based California

Independent Systems Operator issued an advisory asking consumers to

conserve electricity. The agency recommended thermostats should be

set no lower than 78 degrees, and asked customers to use fans or

drapes instead of air conditioning, while turning off lights or

appliances that are not being used.

The agency issued an a Stage 2 Emergency alert Thursday after

power equipment failures, some of which were blamed on the heat.

In a Stage 2 alert, Cal-ISO can ask for voluntary power

reductions. In response to the alert, Southern California Edison

temporarily shut down about 155,000 air-conditioning units, according

to a release.

The official temperature around John Wayne Airport, according to

the National Weather Service, was 86.

There’s nothing too unusual about hot weather during the summer,

but National Weather Service forecaster Steven Vanderburg said a

strong easterly flow is preventing the marine layer from coming in

and cooling off Newport-Mesa.

Science aside, Laguna Beach 13-year-old Jackson Christy described

Thursday’s weather in simpler terms.

“It’s so hot, I’m melting like ice cream,” Jackson said.

Newport-Mesa residents can expect to feel the heat for one more

day before things start to cool off, Vanderburg said.

Temperatures should cool during an expected cloudy weekend.

Vanderburg held out the possibility that rain showers or even

thunderstorms could come to Orange County over the weekend.