SAN DIEGO — Showers kicked off early Friday morning leading to a wet morning commute across much of San Diego County. While light and scattered in nature, some have the ability to drop a quick couple hundredths of an inch at a time, and with that activity expected to continue through the evening Friday and again on Saturday, models point to a couple tenths of an inch in total.
Alongside the showers, you'll likely notice the cooler temperatures and wind picking up. Wind gusts could top 50 mph across the mountains, but remain below 30 mph close to the coast and inland. All inclement weather will die down by late Saturday and lead to a warming trend from Sunday through the middle of next week.
The clouds started to roll in Thursday afternoon and evening ahead of our next storm system. The weak ridge that has kept us mostly sunny over the last couple of days will be replaced with a cold low pressure system. It will create a dip in the jet stream and close in on Southern California Friday. The wind will start to pick up on Thursday evening with the strongest wind gusts expected in the mountains and the desert. The winds will pick up across the entire county. It will be gusty at times through Saturday morning as the low moves through the region.
Rain chances will also increase on Friday with that day being the more favorable one for wet weather. Spotty to scattered showers are possible with light totals for most of the county. The heaviest activity will be in the mountains. It will not be consistent showers with on-again, off-again activity expected, so make sure you have your umbrella handy as chances linger through Saturday.
The cold nature of this system shows a chance for snowfall in our local mountains. It would be light, but we could see up to an inch above 4,000 feet. Heavier snowfall is anticipated above 5,000 feet with 2 to 3 inches in the forecast for Big Bear.
FRIDAY TEMPERATURES:
Below seasonal temperatures return to San Diego County, especially inland, due to the next storm system. Many cities will be 10 to 20 degrees cooler.
SEASONAL (AVERAGE) DAYTIME HIGHS:
- Coastal highs near 71 to 72 degrees
- Inland valley highs near 74 degrees
- Mountain highs near 60 degrees
- Desert highs near 80 degrees
AT THE COAST:
Expect a building swell and elevated surf along our coastline on Friday. Expect the surf to remain from 3 to 5 feet through Saturday. This will also coincide with the return of King Tides due to the approaching last Super moon of the year, the Beaver Moon. This will create an extra pull on the morning high tides for Friday and Saturday with exceptionally low low tides by the afternoon hours.
The low will start to make its exit on Saturday night. This will leave a dry and cooler air mass behind. We will dry out by the second half of the weekend. On Sunday morning, patchy frost will be a hazard for the inland valleys with overnight temperatures in the 30s. That hazard for sensitive vegetation and crops will reoccur each morning through Tuesday.
A weak low pressure system will keep passing clouds in the forecast through Monday with a slight chance for light showers and more cooler than usual temperatures.
A ridge of high pressure will build in over us on Tuesday. Starting on Tuesday night and lasting through Thursday, Santa Ana winds will return to our forecast. This will dry us out again and warm up our temperatures. They will be above seasonal, west of the mountains, with elevated fire weather concerns Wednesday and Thursday.
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