Lake Elsinore's Balmy Weather Not Seen Since 1959

Temperatures made the history books in Lake Elsinore yesterday beating the record high set back in 1959, but the warm weather is only temporary.

Yesterday’s high of 87 degrees in Lake Elsinore was the result of an offshore wind flow that shoots down the mountains, according to the National Weather Service.

As winds race toward the coast, temperature rises every thousand feet because of compression heating, said Joe Dandrea of the National Weather Service.

“We're at the tail end of the Santa Ana winds and that's usually when it's the warmest,'' Dandrea said.

With those winds dying down, temperatures will drop almost immediately.

Today will see a high of 75 degrees, and by Thursday the mercury will drop to 70 degrees.

“There won't be as much of an offshore component to the winds,'' Dandrea said, “so temperatures should start coming down pretty significantly.''