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Station Climatic Narrative for San Diego
The city of San Diego is located on the San Diego Bay in the southwest corner of Southern California. The prevailing winds and weather are tempered by the Pacific Ocean, with the result that summers are cool and winters warm in comparison with other places along the same general latitude. Temperatures of freezing or below have rarely occurred at the station since the record began in 1871, but hot weather, 90 degrees or above, is more frequent.
Dry easterly winds sometimes blow in the vicinity for several days at a time, bringing temperatures in the 990’s and at times even in the 100’s in the eastern sections of the city and outlying suburbs. At the National Weather Service station itself, however, there have been relatively few days on which 100 degrees or higher was reached.
As these hot winds are predominant in the fall, the highest temperatures occur in the months of September and October. Records show that over 60 percent of the days with 90 degrees or hgigher have occurred in these two months. High temperatures are almost invariably accompanied by very low relative humidities, which often drop below 20 percent and occasionally below 10 percent.
A marked feature is the wide variation in temperature within short distances. In nearby valleys daytimes are much warmer in summer and noticeably cooler in winter and freezing occurs much more frequently than in the city. Although records show unusually small daily temperature ranges, only about 15 degrees between the highest and lowest readings, a few miles inland these ranges increase to 30 degrees or more.
Strong winds and gales associated with Pacific, or tropical storms, are infrequent due to the latitude.
The seasonal rainfall is about 10 inches in the city, but increases with elevation and distance from the coast. In the mountains to the north and east the average is between 20 and 40 inches, depending on slope and elevation. Most of the precipitation falls in winter, except in the mountains where there is an occasional thunderstorm. Eight-five percent of the rainfall occurs from November through March, but wide variations take place in monthly and seasonal totals. Infrequent measurable amounts of hail occur in San Diego, but snow is practically unknown at the Weather Service Office location. In each occurrence of snowfall only a trace was recorded officially, but in some locations amounts up to or slightly exceeding a half-inch fell, and remained on the ground for an hour or more.
As on the rest of the Pacific Coast, a dominant characteristic spring and summer is the nighttime and early morning cloudiness. Low clouds form regularly and frequently extend inland over the coastal valleys and foothills, but they usually dissipate during the morning and the afternoons are generally clear.
Considerable fog occurs along the coast, but the amount decreases with distance inland. The fall and winter months are usually the foggiest. Thunderstorms are rare, averaging about three a year in the city. Visibilities are good as a rule. The sunshine is plentiful for a marine location, with a marked increase toward the interior.