Clear, Dry Weather Is Expected : Stash Those Umbrellas and Smile

Mostly sunny skies are expected today after a low-pressure system surprised forecasters by dropping more than an inch of rain over two days at Lindbergh Field and more than two inches in the mountains.

The system that brought showers to San Diego County beginning Monday morning was expected to move east Tuesday night, National Weather Service forecasters said, while a building high-pressure system was expected to restore dry weather through the weekend.

Forecasters who had predicted no more than a half inch of rain at the airport said the amount of precipitation had been difficult to predict because the system was at sea.

“Besides satellite pictures, we could make no direct observations,” forecaster Dan Atkin said.

At Lindbergh Field, total rainfall for the two-day storm was 1.16 inches. Most of the rain fell Monday night and early Tuesday--only 0.17 of an inch fell Monday before dark, and 0.01 fell during daylight on Tuesday.

At Palomar Mountain, 2.15 inches of rain fell from 4 p.m. Monday to 4 p.m. Tuesday, and 1.01 inches fell at Mt. Laguna during the same period.

The showers pushed the seasonal rainfall total to 2.34 inches above normal.

Atkin said it was a “relatively warm storm, because a lot of the moisture was coming up from the subtropics.” Temperatures remained normal and will warm a couple of degrees today.

Highs of around 68 to 74 are expected in the coastal strip and inland highs through Thursday are expected to be in the 70s.

Mountain highs should be in the mid-50s to mid-60s and the desert may warm to the 80s.