Relief From Humidity Is on the Way

Tourists visiting San Diego from the East or Midwest should feel at home today as the area continues to experience cloudy, muggy weather with occasional thunderstorms. However, the weekend is expected to bring partly sunny skies and lower humidity, according to the National Weather Service.

San Diego County simmered under hothouse conditions Thursday, as humidity stayed above 70% for the entire day, said forecaster Richard Stitt. High temperatures ranged from 70 at Mt. Laguna to 91 at Escondido. Lindbergh Field had a high of 80.

Humidity is expected to remain high and keep things sticky today, with temperatures reaching as high as 83 along the coast and 87 inland. Overnight lows will range from 68 to 73 near the ocean and from 63 to 68 inland.

On Saturday, clouds and humidity should decrease, matched by a corresponding increase in sunshine and temperatures. Temperatures will be four degrees higher than today, but the humidity should drop to 50%, making conditions a bit more comfortable for the weekend, Stitt said.

Leaden skies were frequently brightened Thursday by spectacular thunderstorms. Sporadic cloudbursts brought more than an inch of rain to Descanso and Mt. Palomar.

In the county’s biggest storm, 2.36 inches of rain fell at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park in less than two hours, causing a flash flood that closed campgrounds there, Stitt said. “Golfball-size” hail was reported in some desert areas.

The collision of a high-pressure system located over New Mexico with moist tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico is causing San Diego’s steamy and volatile weather, Stitt said.

Because of this instability, thunderstorms in San Diego County have tended to strike isolated areas without warning, prompting flash-flood warnings in the Anza Borrego Desert area and the western third of Imperial County.

Forecasters believe the high-pressure system will move east by the weekend, Stitt said. Despite this past week’s conditions, Stitt added, it is unlikely that San Diego will experience another hot, humid summer like 1984.