Only Beaches Will Offer Haven in Weekend Heat

A high-pressure system hovering over Ensenada will create a heat wave that will cook all of San Diego County this weekend, forecasters said.

The only place to beat the heat may be the beaches, said Wilbur Shigehara, chief forecaster for the National Weather Service in San Diego.

The beaches will be sheltered by cloud cover for most of the day, he said. The clouds will provide relief from the heat that will invade the rest of the county this weekend.

With temperatures expected to climb well over 90 degrees inland, the path to the beaches should be well worn by the end of the weekend.

“Usually when the inland weather is hot, they make the trip to the beach and they stay ,” said Thorsten Hegberg, a lifeguard at Oceanside city beach.

Shigehara cautioned that the heat wave shouldn’t be taken lightly.

“Take your sunscreen and a lot of water with you wherever you go,” he said.

Especially those heading to the deserts. Temperatures there could reach 110 degrees, Shigehara said. At night, the weather will stay warm, dropping only to 75, he said.

For San Diego, the heat wave follows the warm, humid weather left behind by Hurricane Darby last week. Though two more hurricanes lurk off the coast, forecasters don’t expect muggy days and nights to return soon.

“The hurricanes will come toward us (like Darby did), but the high-pressure system will keep them away,” Shigehara said.

Even though the humidity will be near normal, temperatures could still be stifling this weekend.

In the coastal area, including downtown, the high will be 78 to 88 degrees, Shigehara said. The normal high for this time of year is 76. At night, the temperature is expected to fall to about 68.

Hot weather will continue to beset inland areas, with temperatures creeping up a few degrees as the weekend progresses, Shigehara predicted.

Highs inland will climb to nearly 95 degrees this weekend, he said. The nighttime lows will dip to about 68, he said.

The mountains will offer little relief from the heat wave, Shigehara said. Highs will be in the mid-80s, with lows between 54 and 62, he said.

Despite the heat wave, the 18th annual Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade will be held in Hillcrest.

The parade will begin at noon at 6th Avenue and Laurel Street. Event organizers expect Mayor Maureen O’Connor, Police Chief Bob Burgreen and City Manager Jack McGrory to take part.

As a sign of support, more than 100 marchers will participate in the parade’s “diversity section,” which will be filled with non-gay city workers, said Daniel W. Kilburn, a spokesman for the City of San Diego Gay and Lesbian Employees Assn.

A reviewing stand, complete with bleachers and pre-parade entertainment, will be set up at 6th Avenue and Upas Street in Hillcrest.