The heat is turned up on us this week

Mark Twain once remarked that “if you don’t like the weather in New England, just wait an hour and it will change.” This will also be an up-and-down week in our cities in West Orange County, so keep your shorts and your sweaters both handy.

WEATHER:  It’ll be unseasonably warm in all of our cities, with temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s through most of the week, then a steep drop into the 70s by Sunday.

MEETINGS:  If you’re a civics junkie, there are lots of meetings going on this week. Huntington Beach City Council meets on Monday at 6 p.m., the Garden Grove and Stanton council meetings are on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and Westminster on Wednesday at 7 p.m. For more on what’s on the agendas for these meetings, follow this link:

EVENTS:  It’s not quite Halloween, but lots of celebrations of the spooky holiday are planned for this week.

• Jack O’Lantern Jamboree at Atlantis Play Center in Garden Grove on Saturday from 1-4 p.m. $10 per person; no ticket sales at the door.
• Stanton Halloween Festival, Central Park (10660 Western Ave.) from 4-8 p.m. on Saturday. It’s free to attend.
• The Harvest Fest at St. Columban’s Church Friday through Sunday at 10801 Stanford Ave. in Garden Grove. Free admission and parking.

And here’s a wholly different event: the World Junior Surfing Championships in Huntington Beach starting on Saturday and continuing through Nov. 3. The opening ceremonies will be held on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. The Parade of Nations will be on Orange Avenue to Main Street.

In Stanton, the topic will be the special election at the “Talk on the Block” neighborhood meeting at Park Plaza (7622 Beach Blvd.) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

ENTERTAINMENT: Films opening this week in local cinemas will include:

• “Black and Blue,” a police action/thriller. Good cops vs. bad cops and drug thugs. Rated R.

• “Countdown,” horror/suspense film. An app can predict can a person will die. Rated R.