The weather forecast in San Diego promises a return to seasonal norms for most regions, with minor variations in temperature as a series of weather patterns take their course. According to a release from NWS San Diego, coastal areas and valleys are expected to experience near-normal high temperatures today, with conditions expected to warm slightly going into Sunday as offshore flow weakens.
Meanwhile, the Santa Ana winds, a notable driver of dry conditions inland, are on the retreat. "Very dry today for inland areas even as the Santa Ana winds continue to weaken," states the Area Forecast Discussion. Lighter winds are anticipated heading into early next week, and a warming trend for inland areas is expected, eventually balanced by the return of the marine layer along the coast, which will moderate temperatures.
Surface pressure gradients, which influence wind patterns and are a staple consideration for forecasting in this region, have been observed to be "weakly offshore to the local deserts," per NWS, signifying a decrease in pressure differentials that lead to strong wind events. Coastal and valley regions mostly enjoy clear skies and VFR (Visual Flight Rules) conditions, providing respite from significant weather disruptions.
Moving into the latter part of the week, forecasts become less certain as meteorologists face a split in the predictive models. The dichotomy lies in whether an upper ridge will continue to usher in warmer weather or a trough off the west coast will introduce a cooling trend. "The latter half of the week becomes more uncertain as ensemble solutions diverge on the position of the upper ridge and a trough somewhere off the west Coast," the forecast discussion explains. Due to these discrepancies in weather models, the exact extent of next weekend's temperatures remains in the air.
As for current marine and fire weather conditions, the outlook is cautiously optimistic. No hazardous marine conditions are expected through Wednesday, and the diminishing Santa Ana winds signal a decrease in fire weather concerns despite low relative humidity still apparent in mountain and desert areas. North to northeast winds gusting 25-35 mph will continue early today before weakening, with very weak offshore flow to persist on Sunday with minimum humidity around 18-25% inland. Thus far, Skywarn activation, a program that calls upon trained weather spotters, is not requested, but spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions.
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