Temperatures will likely rise into the 80s on Thursday along the San Diego County coastline — and the 90s inland — due to Santa Ana winds, which will carry warm air from the desert to the sea during one of the driest periods in the region’s history, the National Weather Service said.
The daytime high is projected to hit 81 at San Diego, which is 14 degrees above average, and 83 in Oceanside. El Cajon could top out at 91.
The hot spell will be short-lived. Cold air will begin to spread across the county Friday and linger through the weekend. Forecasters say there’s a chance that inland parts of the county will get a bit of rain.
San Diego is in the midst of the driest water year since record-keeping began in 1850, with the city’s airport recording only 1.27 inches of precipitation from Oct. 1 to Feb. 24. The second driest start to the rainy season occurred during the same period in 1876-77.
The current numbers “are where we don’t want them to be,” said Alex Tardy, a weather service forecaster.
Sea surface temperatures will remain in the 56-to-61-degree range, which is not unusual for late February.
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