Spring is near. But this is no time to stow your scarves and sweaters.
A pair of fast-moving Pacific storms will give San Diego County the shivers this week, dropping temperatures far below average and briefly drenching a region that’s in drought, the National Weather Service says.
It’s also possible that snow will fall as low as the 3,500-foot level, and clouds might make it impossible to see a total lunar eclipse on Thursday night.
The first storm was expected to move ashore before dawn Tuesday in North County, then spread south and east, possibly producing 0.10 inches to 0.25 inches of rain at the coast and far more east of Interstate 15.
“It’s going to be showery,” said David Munyan, a weather service forecaster. “Some areas could get a lot more rain than others.”
A second, larger system will arrive Wednesday night and last well into Thursday, delivering 0.25 inches or more inches of precipitation at the coast and an inch in the eastern half of the county. Palomar Mountain and Mount Laguna are likely to have snow by dawn Thursday.
The daytime high temperature at San Diego International Airport will be 60 on Tuesday, 63 on Wednesday and 58 on Thursday. The seasonal average high is 67.
The airport has recorded 2.2 inches of precipitation since the rainy season began on October — 5.57 inches below normal. The entire county is in extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The clouds will be moving fairly quickly, but it’s doubtful that skies will be clear at 8:57 p.m. Thursday when a total lunar eclipse begins to unfold above the east-southeast horizon. The moon will be in full eclipse from 11:26 p.m. to 12:31 a.m. Friday. The eclipse will end at 3 a.m.
“You’d probably have to go to the eastern end of Imperial County to see the eclipse,” Munyan said.
