San Diego Stays Unusually Cool as Low Pressure Systems Prevail

The hot, muggy days of early August seem only a distant memory with the current trend toward cooler weather, according to the National Weather Service in San Diego.

August, normally the hottest month of the year has had 17 days out of 23 with temperatures below the norm of about 77 degrees at Lindbergh Field, said forecaster Dan Atkins. “We’ve had a rather persistent series of troughs and low pressure systems over the West Coast keeping temperatures down,” he said.

Today and the weekend look no different. Following the trend, the weather will be a little cooler because of a deepening marine layer, said Atkins. The layer of night and morning clouds is expected to persist with a slow clearing each afternoon. Only a partial clearing is expected at the beaches. The deep marine layer is caused by a low-pressure trough centered over western Canada and extending over the southwest United States. The trough will start weakening Sunday, and a warming trend will follow through the end of next week, Atkins said.

In the meantime, the cloud cover and on-flow of marine air will keep temperatures a couple of degrees cooler than the norm of about 77, he said.

Temperatures at the beaches will range from 68 to 73, with a water temperature of 70 degrees. The surf will peak at 2 to 3 feet in 12-second intervals. Afternoon breezes will blow at 10 to 16 m.p.h.

Coastal highs will range from 73 to 77 today and through the weekend, with nighttime lows of 64 to 69. Inland highs will range from 78 to 84, with lows of 57 to 65.

In the mountain, temperatures of 76 to 84 are expected, with lows of 44 to 52. The mercury in the desert will peak between 100 to 108 and dip down to 64 to 72 at night.