Sun Won’t Be Far Behind : Storm Hits S.D. Ahead of Schedule

Thursday night’s storm hit San Diego almost a day earlier and somewhat stronger than expected, but skies are expected to begin to clear this afternoon and Sunday will dawn clear and warmer, the National Weather Service said.

The thundershowers and gusty winds should linger through midday, forecaster Ray Robben said. He said the showers began on Thursday instead of the predicted Friday afternoon because of a miscalculation of the storm front’s strength.

“A storm has two significant features, a surface front followed by an upper level trough,” Robben said. “With this storm, the surface front turned out to be stronger than was first thought, and now the associated upper level trough will be passing through (Friday) night and (this) morning.”

As of 4 p.m. Friday, .23 of an inch of rain had fallen at Lindbergh Field, and light snow had fallen at Cuyamaca Park, Mount Laguna and Palomar Mountain. Initial predictions had called for .25 of an inch of rainfall and no snow.

A travelers advisory was in effect in the deserts through late Friday night because of winds of up to 40 miles an hour. They were expected to decrease significantly today.

Coastal high temperatures will be 62 to 67 degrees today, warming up about three or four degrees Sunday. Lows will remain around 50 degrees. Inland areas will have highs between 65 and 71 today, nudging up to 70 to 76 Sunday. Lows will be in the 40s.