From Winter to Summer in One Day

Although spring is still officially more than two weeks away, a record-breaking heat wave has driven daytime temperatures to summer levels in the San Fernando Valley area.

Throughout the Valley on Wednesday, people were eating outdoors, going on leisurely walks, begging their parents for ice cream, and otherwise taking advantage of the unusual weather.

“It’s causing a spring fever,” said attorney Thomas R. Mulally, sitting with his law partners beside the outdoor fountain at the Encino Place shopping center on Ventura Boulevard during lunch hour. “There are never this many people outside here.”

“The weather is weally hot,” said 3-year-old Noah Pollock, Ben & Jerry’s Coconut Almond Fudge Chunk ice cream all over his face.

Noah and his mother, Shari Pollock, were among the many who stopped by the Encino ice-cream store Wednesday to cool off.

“It feels like we skipped over spring and went straight to summer,” said employee Jeff Sosner, who was working the store alone. “We’re usually slow at this time, but for the past few days, we’ve been very busy.”

Not everyone, however, was thrilled with the unseasonable heat.

Roofer Carlos Villarreal spent his entire day Wednesday on top of an earthquake-damaged home in Sherman Oaks.

“It’s always hot on a roof, but this is much hotter than it should be,” he said, taking a break while his co-workers labored above. “It sometimes becomes intolerable.”

Temperatures since Monday have been well above normal for this time of year.

Wednesday’s high of 87 degrees broke Los Angeles’ previous March 2 record of 86 degrees, set in 1910, according to the National Weather Service.

The average temperature for March 2 in Los Angeles is 67 degrees, said Curtis Brack, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., a Wichita, Kan.-based firm that provides forecasts for The Times.

According to Brack, a combination of high pressure in the upper atmosphere, which produces clear skies, and weak Santa Ana winds, which help warm the air, are responsible for the heat wave.

While the hot spell is expected to gradually cool, with Thursday’s high expected to be 83 and Friday’s 77 degrees, temperatures will remain above normal, and no rain is expected through the weekend, Brack said.