The San Diego area braces as the National Weather Service (NWS) predicts well-below average high temperatures continuing inland today, paired with strong and gusty winds kicking in this afternoon, hitting hardest in the mountains and deserts. A slight chance of showers mingles with the prospect of thunderstorms near the San Bernardino Mountains later in the day, setting an unseasonably cool and blustery scene for locals.

People in mountain and desert regions are preparing for the high winds, with gusts potentially reaching up to 75 mph. Such conditions could pose serious challenges for unsecured items and high-profile vehicles. However, the winds will weaken as we move into the weekend. A warming trend is in the offing from Saturday through Tuesday, offering a reprieve as high temperatures creep closer to seasonal averages, according to the NWS.

By Sunday, temperatures near the coast will be slightly warmer, with inland areas seeing a kick-up of 5 to 10 degrees compared to Saturday. Monday and Tuesday will see highs around average on the coast and a tad warmer inland, "around 5 degrees above average," per the NWS forecast.

But don’t stash away those sweaters just yet, as NWS warns of a cooling trend later next week due to a developing low-pressure system expected to deepen the marine layer and bring back stronger onshore flow with more gusty winds for the mountains and deserts. The marine layer, currently at about 6000 feet deep, brought coastal low clouds inland and stretched to the coastal slopes of the mountains. Although there have been some breaks in the clouds over inner coastal waters and the Orange County coastal plain, the NWS discussion reveals.

While beachgoers may look forward to some sun this weekend, the NWS has issued a Beach Hazards Statement starting this afternoon through Saturday morning, alerting to the potential hazards posed by short-period wind swells along the coast, especially for west-facing beaches in San Diego County—surf could reach heights of up to seven feet before tailing off into the weekend.