As the chilly Southern California weekend continues, the National Weather Service San Diego has advised that the region will see light showers through Sunday afternoon, leading up to a drier Monday. According to NWS San Diego, snow levels will rest between 5500-6000 feet, concentrating in the San Bernardino Mountains, and temperatures are slated to be 5-15 degrees below normal today, with a slight rise come Monday.
Additionally, the NWS has extended the Winter Storm Warning through Sunday afternoon due to prolonged periods of precipitation, as travelers and residents brace for 1-2 inches of additional snow above 5500 feet, yet winds, which have battered particularly the desert slopes with gusts hitting 50-60 mph, are predicted to calm down by Sunday evening however breezy conditions are expected to persist through Monday as gusts around 25-35 mph remain possible. "Isolated light showers continue for the mountains westward this morning," the NWS detailed in their forecast discussion, signaling a slow cessation of showers by the arrival of the workweek.
The weather shift also brings disruptions on the sea and the shore, as the NWS issues advisories for increased winds and potential high swells. Coastal Orange and San Diego counties are under High Surf Advisory, with expected surf reaching 4-7 feet leading to robust rip currents making it a risk for beachgoers and small vessels at sea which the Small Craft Advisory is in effect until Monday morning to account for. In the tradition of temperamental Southern California weather, after a cooler midweek, the region anticipates another bout of warming on the horizon as "a weak ridge of high pressure moves overhead" the NWS confirms, with this weekend's lows making way for more seasonal temperatures by next Saturday.
The outlook is not all gloomy, as skies are set to clear, granting at least partial sunshine each day, while acknowledging the robust marine layer that will encapsulate coastal areas and valleys every night into the morning, the city itself dons a cloak of cloud, destined to scatter and let slip the sun in the forthcoming days affirming the transient nature of these showers and the sway of the West's notable unpredictable weather.
