High Pressure Protects County From New Storm

Falling humidity and rising temperatures are expected today as a high-pressure system foils potential storms in San Diego and instead delivers dry weather through the weekend.

According to the National Weather Service, morning clouds today should clear to reveal sunshine, and temperatures will warm to above-average highs by Saturday. Some cloudiness may return Sunday, but rain is not expected through the weekend.

A high-pressure system that began building Wednesday started blocking the showers Thursday, forecasters said, and only a few sprinkles were reported throughout the county. The total rainfall at Lindbergh Field for storms earlier this week was 0.73 of an inch.

This weekend’s sunny weather “brings the first significant dryness in quite awhile,” forecaster Wilbur Shigehara said.

November was the third-wettest and third-cloudiest November on record. A high 4.92 inches of rain fell in November--3.02 inches more than the norm of 1.90. Normally a sunny month without morning clouds, November saw only 64% of possible sunshine, forecasters said.

The air should dry today with a sharp drop in humidity--from 78% Thursday afternoon at Lindbergh Field to 40% to 50% at the airport today.

Sea breezes from the west should be an average 10 to 16 m.p.h., but winds in the mountains may gust from the north and northwest up to 30 m.p.h. under the influence of a mild Santa Ana condition.

The surf, which swelled to 10 feet on west-facing beaches this week, is gradually diminishing, but is expected to remain high--up to six feet--through Saturday.

A small-craft advisory was extended through Saturday, Shigehara said. “The seas are still rough and boaters should be careful, especially near harbor entrances,” he said.

Temperatures will warm to normal today and are expected to be above average Saturday. Highs at the beach are expected in the low 60s under sunny afternoon skies.

Daytime highs along the coast in the upper 60s today should rise to 73 Saturday. The normal high for this time of year at Lindbergh Field is 67 degrees.

Coastal lows are expected to be between 48 and 54 degrees. Inland valley highs are expected to be in the mid-70s both days with lows in the 40s.

Mountain highs in the mid-40s to mid-50s may fall to the 30s at night; desert highs of 78 today may reach 82 on Saturday, and lows are expected to be in the 40s.