Outlook Is Good for Great Weather Over the Long Holiday Weekend

No matter where you go or what you do this Labor Day weekend, the weather will be nearly perfect, the weatherman said.

Thinking about the San Diego State University football game against the University of Southern California at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium?

“Saturday at the game, it’s going to be great,” said Wilbur Shigehara, chief forecaster for the National Weather Service in San Diego.

Beaches? Mountains? Deserts?

“There will be nothing to complain about,” Shigehara said.

The sunshine and the temperature are running at exactly about normal for this time of year.

“Not too hot, not too cold,” Shigehara said. “It will really be great.”

The weather will include the usual night and morning low clouds with sunshine-filled afternoons.

A mild, low-pressure system that has floated into the region from Alaska is keeping things on the cool, but sunny side, Shigehara said.

On Thursday, the high at Lindbergh Field was 77 degrees, which is the average temperature for this time of year.

Temperatures throughout the county should remain normal through the weekend, but will rise a few degrees on Monday.

For those planning a traditional Labor Day picnic, the Harbor View Medical Center warned that inside each innocent-looking picnic basket there lurks a potential for food poisoning.

“In the heat of summer, bacteria in food can double every 20 minutes,” said Beverly Ellman, a spokeswoman for the 176-bed hospital. “Within two hours, food left sitting out in temperatures over 60 degrees may be unsafe to eat.”

To prevent food poisoning, she suggested common sense food handling and storage.

Keeping your hands clean when preparing foods and putting all perishable items in a cool box will prevent most types of food poisoning, she said.

At the beaches, temperatures this weekend will peak at 75 degrees. The ocean water temperature will be about 69 degrees and the surf will be nearly 3 feet. In the coastal section, including downtown, the high temperature will be 77 degrees until Sunday, and may reach 80 degrees on Labor Day. At night the temperature will dip to 65 degrees.

Highs of about 83 degrees are expected in the inland areas all weekend. At night the temperatures will only reach 61 degrees.

The mountains will have clear and sunny skies, with only a few clouds in the morning.

Temperatures in the mountains will climb into the 70s and fall to about 50 degrees this weekend.

The deserts will have high temperatures near 100 degrees and night time marks of about 68 degrees.