Ever-Lingering Gloom Pains Forecaster
The weatherman has one request: Don’t blame him for the June gloom he’s again forecasting for the weekend.
June, 1987, will probably go down in the memories of most San Diegans as the definitive June gloom, as the weekend forecast again calls for night and morning low clouds clearing to partial afternoon sunshine at the beaches and mostly sunny skies inland, National Weather Service forecaster Wilbur Shigehara said.
Shigehara has found out that some San Diegans are having a little trouble separating the forecaster from the forecast.
Lack of Sun Is Upsetting
“People get a little upset when they haven’t seen much of the sun, and I’ve gotten a few irate calls the last couple of days,” Shigehara said. “One guy was saying, ‘I’ve got my parents coming into town from the Midwest and you have to promise me the weekend will not be cloudy.’ ”
The thermal low pressure over the desert had weakened a little on Thursday, resulting in sunshine earlier in the day in the inland areas. However, the beaches didn’t see an afternoon clearing, and Shigehara expects this will be the case all weekend and very possibly all next week.
“Our long-range charts indicate the beaches will have very little, if any, afternoon sunshine for the next several days,” he said. “This forecast might even linger into the Fourth of July weekend.”
As for the mountain and desert areas, they will miss out on the low clouds but will be subjected to a chance of isolated thunderstorms today and Saturday, according to Shigehara.
“The thunderstorms from northern Mexico have moved into Arizona and are now struggling to move west into California,” he said. “This moisture from Mexico could very well leak into San Diego County’s mountains and deserts, but this would be a very temporary pattern with a chance of an isolated thunderstorm or two lasting only until Saturday.”
The clouds are not having much effect on temperatures, as highs and lows in all areas hover very close to seasonal levels. The high at Lindbergh Field reached 72 degrees Thursday, while normal for that date is 73. The overnight low matched the normal 62 degrees.
Coastal areas will have highs in the 70- to 75-degree range today and through the weekend, with lows in the mid-50s. Ocean temperature will hover around 65 degrees, with surf averaging three to four feet.
Inland highs will be in the 76- to 86-degree range today and Saturday, nudging down a couple of degrees on Sunday. Overnight lows will be in the low to mid-50s.
Highs in the mountain areas will continue to range from 77 to 86 degrees today through the weekend, with lows between 48 and 58.
Deserts will again be mostly clear, with some high cloudiness possible in the afternoon hours by Sunday. Highs will be in the 103- to 108-degree range through Sunday, with lows ranging from 68 to 76.
“I have just one request,” Shigehara said. “Wherever you are this weekend, don’t blame us forecasters when you see the clouds start to roll in. We warned you.”