textproduct: San Diego

SYNOPSIS

Cooler and breezy weather will continue today with west winds in the mountains and deserts gusting to 35 to 45 mph. Strengthening high pressure aloft and offshore flow will bring warming and drying for Friday and Saturday. Northeast winds along and below the coastal slopes of the mountains will gust to 35 to 45 mph on Friday and 25 to 35 mph on Saturday. High temperatures will warm from a few degrees below average today to as much as 10 to 15 degrees above average on Saturday. Inland areas will continue to warm on Sunday while coastal areas begin to cool with cooling spreading inland on Monday. Tuesday will be slightly warmer, then a few degrees cooler for next Wednesday.

SHORT TERM (Today through Friday)

Cooler and breezy weather will continue for today with high temperatures around average near sea level to a few to around 5 degrees below average for the valleys, mountains, and inland Orange County. High temperatures for today for the coast and valleys will be mostly in the 60s and lower 70s with the lower deserts in the 80s. The NKX sounding on late Wednesday afternoon showed an inversion base near 5500 feet with satellite imagery showing low clouds banked up along the lower coastal slopes of the mountains. For today into this evening, west winds for the mountains and deserts will gust to 35 to 45 mph.

For Friday and Saturday, offshore flow and weakening of low pressure aloft will bring warming and drying. Northeast winds along and below the coastal slopes of the mountains are expected to be strongest during the day on Friday with gusts to 35 to 45 mph. Winds will weaken some on Saturday with gusts to 25 to 35 mph. High temperatures on Friday will warm as much as 8 to 12 degrees for valleys and inland Orange County. High temperatures on Saturday will be a few degrees warmer near the coast to 4 to 8 degrees warmer for inland areas. High temperatures on Saturday will be as much as 10 to 15 degrees above average for the coast and valleys with high temperatures ranging from the 70s to around 80 near the coast to the 80s for the valleys with the lower deserts around 90.

LONG TERM (Sunday through Wednesday)

On Sunday, onshore flow will spread cooling into coastal areas while the deserts continue to warm. Cooling will spread inland on Monday with Monday high temperatures a few degrees above average near the coast to 5 to 10 degrees above average for inland areas. Monday high temperatures will range from around 70 near the coast to the upper 70 to mid 80s for the Inland Empire with the lower deserts in the lower to mid 90s. Tuesday will be slightly warmer with Wednesday a few degrees cooler.

AVIATION

020930Z...Coast/Valleys/Foothills...SCT-BKN clouds with bases between 2500-4500 feet MSL will continue today. Local terrain obscuration in foothills. Greater scatter out expected after 17-18Z, especially near the coast and vcnty KSNA/KONT, with areas of BKN clouds persisting in western San Diego County. Low clouds around 2000-3000 feet MSL to cover western San Diego County 01-08Z. Rapid clearing after 09Z overnight into Friday morning.

Mountain ridges/deserts...VFR conditions today through tonight. Strong westerly winds with gusts 30-45 kts over ridges, through passes, on desert slopes and locally into deserts through 03Z. Gusts reaching 25-35 kts along the floor of the lower desert. Areas of BLDU expected with vis 3-5SM, especially in the High Desert. Winds diminish and turn northeast after 09Z tonight into Friday.

MARINE

Northwest wind gusts will occasionally exceed 20 knots near San Clemente Island this afternoon and evening. Otherwise, no hazardous marine conditions expected through Monday.

CLIMATE

Some details on the large number of temperature records tied or broken at Palm Springs in March 2026 with records dating back to 1893:

- The new warmest average temperature for March is now 79.2 degrees, exceeding the previous record of 74.2 in 1934 by 5 degrees! The previous largest spread between the warmest and second warmest average temperature for a month had been 1.8 degrees for November. If that warmest average temperature for March of 79.2 had occurred in April, it would have been the second warmest April on record. That 79.2 for March 2026 exceeded the average for the month of 67.5 by 11.7 degrees!

- The new warmest average MINIMUM temperature for March is now 64.8 degrees, exceeding the previous record of 60.6 in 2004 by 4.2 degrees! The previous largest spread between the warmest and second warmest average MINIMUM temperature for a month had been 2.5 degrees for August. That 64.8 for March 2026 exceeded the average for the month of 54.4 by 10.4 degrees!

- The new warmest average MAXIMUM temperature for March is now 93.7 degrees, exceeding the previous record of 91.3 in 1972 by 2.4 degrees. The previous largest spread between the warmest and second warmest average MAXIMUM temperature for a month had been 1.8 degrees for April. That 93.7 for March 2026 exceeded the average for the month of 80.6 by 13.1 degrees!

- The new highest temperature for March is now 108, set on 20 March 2026. Prior to 2026, the record was 104 on 31 March 1966. That 1966 record was exceeded on four days in March 2026, each day from the 18th to the 21st. For hottest days in March at Palm Springs, 5 of the 6 hottest were in 2026 as were 6 of the 8 hottest.

- The new warmest daily minimum temperature for March is now 78, set on 19 March 2026. Prior to 2026, the record was 70 on 14 March 1972. That 1972 record was exceeded on SEVEN days in March 2026, each day from the 17th to the 20th, and again on the 28th, 29th, and 31st.

- Daily high temperature records were broken on 9 days and tied on another 3, Four of those new daily records exceeded the record for the month prior to 2026.

- Daily warmest low temperature records were broken on 10 days. Seven of those new daily records exceeded the record for the month prior to 2026.

SKYWARN

Skywarn activation is not requested. However weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions.

SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

CA...Wind Advisory until 11 PM PDT this evening for Apple and Lucerne Valleys-Coachella Valley-Riverside County Mountains-San Bernardino County Mountains-San Diego County Deserts-San Diego County Mountains-San Gorgonio Pass near Banning.

PZ...None.