SAN DIEGO — With whipping winds, near-freezing temperatures, and snow in lower levels of the county, many think this could be the coldest winter in San Diego.
THE QUESTION
Is this winter the coldest winter on record for San Diego County?
THE SOURCES
- Karlene Chavis, CBS 8 Chief Meteorologist
- The National Weather Service
- CBS 8 Archives
THE ANSWER
No, 2023 is not the coldest winter on record for San Diego County.
WHAT WE FOUND
It's been a cold stretch this winter, but CBS 8 Chief Meteorologist Karlene Chavis dug up some data from the National Weather Service and found similar weather patterns that date back to the 60s.
“It’s not the first time that snow has come down to 2,500 feet; it's been even lower,” said Chavis.
In 2008, four inches of snow fell as low as a thousand feet in elevation.
A year earlier, a trace of snow fell on Rancho Bernardo, Escondido, Chula Vista, El Cajon, and La Mesa.
“A lot of people haven't seen it in a long time, and they think it's the coldest,” said Chavis.
CBS 8 Archivist Barbara Nielsen found a story we broadcast on Christmas 1987. Icicles were dangling from citrus trees where farm workers put down heating bricks to thaw the groves.
“Also, who can forget? I know many people brought up the anniversary back in December 1967 we had snowfall,” said Chavis.
She says over five decades ago, 50 inches of snow fell at Mt. Laguna in 24 hours. There was snow in Carlsbad. A San Diego city limits sign was partially covered in snow, and this was the last time San Diegans witnessed snow on the beach.
Abbie: What is the coldest winter that San Diego has ever experienced?
Karlene: To put this in perspective, what's the coldest temperature we've ever had? For downtown San Diego, 25 degrees, we were talking in 1913.
We can verify that this is not the coldest winter on record in San Diego County.
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