Winterlike Storm Makes September Resemble December

A winterlike storm moved through San Diego on Wednesday, bringing the first measurable rainfall to the area since July, some scattered power outages and cool temperatures.

A few morning showers should give way to afternoon sunshine today, and Friday should usher in a warming trend with sunny days expected through the weekend.

The high at Lindbergh Field on Wednesday was 68 degrees, while normal for that date is 77. The record lowest high temperature for that date was 66, and Wednesday was the sixth-coldest high temperature on a Sept. 24 since the National Weather Service began keeping records in 1850, forecaster Wilbur Shigehara said.

“We normally do get rain in September, but it was the way we got the rain this time that made it unusual,” Shigehara said. “This air mass is coming all the way down from Alaska. When I look at the origin of our weather for the last couple of days, it looks more like December than September.”

By 4 p.m. Wednesday, 0.04 of an inch of rain had fallen in San Diego County, the first measurable rainfall since July 5, when the area received 0.01 of an inch of rain.

“Showers should continue through at least midday (today), with partly sunny skies by the afternoon,” Shigehara said. “However, the weekend should be dry and sunny, and September should end with warmer conditions.”

Karen Duncan, spokeswoman for San Diego Gas & Electric, said there were several scattered power outages Tuesday night because of the weather, and more were expected.

“The outages affected just a few homes at a time, and no major ones were reported,” Duncan said.

A California Highway Patrol spokesman said there were some minor car wrecks because of the rain, but no major accidents.

“We’ve got the usual fender-benders, but that always happens when we don’t get rain for awhile,” he said. “All the oil floats up and makes the roads quite slick.”

The low temperature at Lindbergh Field was 61. Shigehara said the clouds helped to keep the low temperatures warmer than would be expected.

“It’s like someone threw a blanket over San Diego,” Shigehara said. “I must say I have to label September as quite unusual. We don’t usually get winds from Alaska; we usually get the balmy winds from Mexico. All of this is resulting in the winterlike weather we’ve been having, and our long-range charts are telling us this trend is going to continue.”