Weather Calls for Your Sun Day Best at Beaches, Mountains

What a weekend! That’s what weather experts are predicting for the Fourth of July weekend looming ahead.

Weather for the next four days is expected to be “something the Chamber of Commerce would be proud of,” National Weather Service forecaster Wilbur Shigehara said Thursday.

San Diegans and their guests will experience loads of sunshine and a slow but slight warming trend through Independence Day, reaching near-seasonal temperatures. The characteristic morning and night low clouds should burn off by early or mid-morning.

“As a whole, it will be a very, very pleasant Fourth of July,” Shigehara said. “People will come to San Diego for the weekend, and they will think we have perfect weather.”

Large Crowds Expected

Beach conditions should be near-perfect, with fair skies and cool temperatures after morning clouds. David Mico, a Pacific Beach lifeguard, said the surf will be 2 to 4 feet and he anticipates as many as 120,000 people to swarm the beaches this holiday weekend.

“Right now we’re expecting very large crowds,” Mico said. “Right now the surf has dropped a bit, the rip currents aren’t pulling too hard. But I’m sure we’ll have big crowds.”

By Monday, humidity from Mexico may venture north, causing the mountain areas to become partly cloudy in the afternoon. Otherwise, the mountain and desert areas will be fair.

Today marks the end of the rainy season, which runs July 1-June 30. In its third year of drought conditions, San Diego received only 5.65 inches of rain in that period, about two-thirds of the normal 9.32 inches.

The chance for rain during the summer months does not look promising, Shigehara said. The summer forecast already predicts a hot summer, with less than normal rainfall.

“Nothing of nothing is really nothing,” he said. “The drought conditions only become aggravated.”

Meanwhile, temperatures at the beaches this weekend will range from 66 to 72 degrees, with sea breezes 12 to 18 m.p.h. The water temperature is 65.

Coastal strip highs will slowly warm with 70 to 76 today, up to 80 degrees by Tuesday. Nighttime temperatures should range from 57 to 62 degrees. The foothills areas, such as Ramona and Campo, may top off at 98 degrees by Tuesday, with lows in the mid-40s to mid-50s.

The inland valleys may reach 86 today and possibly 92 degrees by Independence Day. Overnight lows will fall to 47 to 57 tonight, 52 to 60 through Tuesday.

Mountain highs will hit 73 to 78 today, 75 to 81 degrees through Tuesday. Lows will hold in the high-40s and mid-50s.

The desert region may reach 108 degrees today and remain in the high-100s or low teens until Tuesday. Overnight lows will drop to 72 to 77 through Sunday, then rise a bit to 73 to 80 Monday and Tuesday.