Santa Ana Heat Retreats, but Is Poised to Return During Weekend

The heat spell that caused some East County schools to close early and electric power use to soar this week loosened its grip on San Diego County Thursday.

The cooling trend will last through today, but a weak Santa Ana condition will return with warm weather again Saturday, weather forecasters said.

“It looks like the Santa Ana is going away temporarily only to come back this weekend, but it won’t be as intense as it was Tuesday and Wednesday,” said Wilbur Shigehara, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San Diego.

Shigehara said that, by early next week, the Santa Ana will dissipate rapidly and a stronger cooling trend with lots of night and morning low clouds will begin as the low pressure system prevalent through the summer returns, he said.

Thursday, the temperature at Lindbergh Field reached 82; Alpine hit 93; Cabrillo National Monument, 71; Chula Vista, 74; Coronado, 86; Del Mar, 82; El Cajon, 93; Escondido, 95; Imperial Beach, 72; La Mesa, 96; National City, 89; Oceanside, 75; Poway, 95; Santee, 96; Scripps Pier, 69; Spring Valley, 91 and Vista, 92.

The 82-degree high at Lindbergh Field didn’t break any records but was still well above the normal high of 76 for this time of year. The record for the date is 104, set in 1987.

As the Santa Ana began to fade, low clouds and fog rolled in Thursday morning, delaying incoming air traffic at Lindbergh Field by as much as two hours, airport officials said.

The fog began rolling in about 3 a.m., and, by sunrise the airport was socked in, meteorologist Shigehara said. The visibility didn’t budge until about 9 a.m., he said.

The airport has an overnight curfew until 6:30 a.m., said airport manager Bud McDonald. Planes were able to leave the airport as soon as it was legal, but none were permitted to land until about 9 a.m., he said. Planes can take off with less visibility than is needed to land, he said.

At the beaches, not much sun is expected today, and temperatures are expected to range from 66 to 71. As the Santa Ana moves back in, temperatures will rise to 68 to 75 Saturday and 77 on Sunday, Shigehara said. The water temperature is 67, with the surf at 2 to 4 feet.

The coastal will remain cool today, ranging from 75 to 82 and rising to 78 to 87 Saturday through Sunday, Shigehara said. Nighttime temperatures will be 60 to 67, he said.

Inland temperatures will increase to 88 to 98 on Saturday and as high as 100 on Sunday, Shigehara said. Nighttime temperatures are expected to drop to 53 to 63.

In the mountains, the forecast is for temperatures from 75 to 85, increasing to 78 to 88 over the weekend. Desert temperatures will soar to 102 to 108 today, 102 to 113 over the weekend, Shigehara said.

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