Cool, Cloudy Is Outlook for Weekend

November is usually the sunniest month of the year in San Diego but the weather this weekend won’t cooperate to prove the point.

Two weather fronts from the Gulf of Alaska are moving toward San Diego, but rain will only extend as far south as Santa Barbara County, National Weather Service forecaster Wilbur Shigehara said. However, they will bring to San Diego County cooler-than-average temperatures, night and morning low clouds and fog, and only partly sunny afternoons in most areas.

“People think that the summer months are . . . the sunniest here in San Diego,” Shigehara said. “Actually, November has the most sunshine, with an average of 15 totally clear days. May and June, on the other hand, are considered the cloudiest months because of all the morning fog resulting in partly cloudy days.”

The high temperature at Lindbergh Field Thursday was 65. The average high temperature for the date is 69.

“What we have is a stagnant condition,” Shigehara said. “The air mass is not really moving because the high pressure is not strong enough to push the clouds away, the sea breeze is too weak to change anything, and the storms from the north are moving east. There’s just nothing that is really dominating.”

Today’s “temperature might edge up a degree or two depending on how much afternoon sun breaks through the cloud coverage,” Shigehara said.

The beaches will have more clouds and fog than in the inland valleys, especially in the morning hours, Shigehara said. Not much variation in the temperature is expected, with highs expected to be between 62 and 66 degrees and overnight lows in the mid-50s. Ocean temperature will remain about 63 degrees, and the surf between two to four feet.

High temperatures in the inland valleys will be in the 68- to 73-degree range, and overnight lows will be between 47 and 54.

The higher elevations of the mountains and all desert areas are the only places expected to be fair this weekend, Shigehara said. However, the high temperature in the mountains is only expected to reach the mid-50s, and overnight lows will hover near a chilly 28 degrees.

“The clouds and fog will bank up against the bank slopes and reach the 3,500-foot level, tops,” Shigehara said. “This will also stop them from reaching the desert areas.”

Highs in the deserts will be between 77 and 83, and lows will range from 48 to 58 degrees.