Sun Will Break Through But Wet Is the Watchword

The on-again, off-again showers and cool, breezy conditions that hit San Diego early Saturday will continue through the morning, a National Weather Service forecaster said.

A cold front off the Southern California coast has been joined by an upper-level disturbance, which will extend the wet weather through today.

“Between the two of them, the unstable air and shower activity will keep up through noon,” forecaster Harvey Hastrup said. “We had some showers (Saturday) and we are expected to get more.”

The rainfall in most areas remained well under an inch during the day Saturday, with Palomar Mountain receiving 0.75 and Santee 0.41. But only 0.05 inch of rain fell in Imperial Beach and San Diego averaged 0.11.

More rain was expected last night and this morning. The coastal and inland areas may receive up to an additional inch of rain by mid-morning, when showers should begin decreasing. The overcast skies will then slowly break, becoming partly cloudy by the afternoon.

Hastrup said the showers are likely to linger throughout the day in the mountains, where 1 to 3 inches of rain are expected. The National Weather Service has also issued a snow advisory down to the 5,000-foot level.

In addition, mountain winds will gust up to 30 m.p.h. in the mountains, with a few isolated blasts a tad harder. Wind flurries on the coastal strip and inland regions will pick up to 25 m.p.h.

On Monday, the skies will remain partly cloudy for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, but Hastrup said the rainy pattern may return as early as Tuesday night.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” he said.

Activity in the Pacific Northwest will likely bring rain, he said, because the high pressure system will not be strong enough to dissipate the storm.

Showers and cloudy, breezy conditions are forecast for Wednesday and Thursday. High temperatures for the beaches through Monday will remain at 57 to 61 degrees, with some showers and a few thunderstorms this morning and gusty southerly winds up to 20 m.p.h. Daytime temperatures along the coast and inland valleys will range from 60 to 67 degrees through Monday. Coastal lows will fall to 48 to 54; inland 42 to 50 degrees.

Mountain temperatures remain brisk, with highs of 38 to 45 degrees and lows of 25 to 35.

The desert areas will have variable cloudiness with a slight chance of showers, with highs of 60 to 68, and lows of 42 to 52 through Monday.

The surf is 4 to 6 feet at 12-second intervals with water temperature near 58 degrees.