Brief Warming Trend to Give Way to Rainfall

San Diegans who were hoping to enjoy more of Thursday’s warm weather--climaxed by a winter high of 75--are in for disappointment because the first of two storms from Hawaii is expected to arrive tonight, bringing with it cooler temperatures and a chance of rain.

“The Southland can expect the weekend weather to be cool and temperatures to be 10 degrees lower,” National Weather Service forecaster Wilbur Shigehara said. The storm expected tonight and Saturday morning has a 30% to 40% chance of dropping light rain, he said.

But the second storm, expected Sunday afternoon, has a better chance of bringing heavier rain, Shigehara said. That storm should stay in the area through Monday morning and then leave.

Unusual Weather Pattern

The reason for the change in the unusual winter weather pattern of the past few days, which made Thursday the warmest day since Nov. 20, is that a strong high pressure system has left and now “the storm track is aimed at Southern California,” Shigehara said.

Shigehara said that January, which is usually the wettest month of the year, has been a big disappointment.

“Normally, about 2.11 inches of rain falls in January, but so far only about .06 of an inch has fallen,” he said.

As the storms drift in, they will leave cool weather and cloudy skies into early next week.

There is also the potential of danger because of the expected high surf and high tides. The surf will range from 3 to 5 feet, and tides will be high, reaching a peak of 7.6 feet on Tuesday. Shigehara cautioned people against the dangerous combination of high tides and high surf.

“We know the tide will be high, and the second storm might bring a high surf. The combination of the two is very dangerous and could cause some structural damage. Although we are not certain that the storms will bring a high surf, we just want the public to be aware that it might happen,” Shigehara said.

Highs in Low 60s

Highs today along the coast will be about 65, dropping a few degrees over the weekend. Lows along the coast today and over the weekend will be about 45 to 47 degrees.

Inland, highs will range between 65 to 70, dropping to the lower 60s over the weekend. The lows will reach the mid-40s.

“In the inland valley areas, where we have seen some frost, temperatures will warm up and the frost will go away. Nighttime temperatures, which have been very chilly, will warm because of the rain,” Shigehara said.

Temperatures in the mountains will range from the high 40s to the high 50s today, decreasing to about 40 degrees during the weekend. Low in the mountains will in the mid-30s.

The snow level will be about 3,000 feet, “so you might see some snow on our mountaintops,” Shigehara said.