San Diego County is about to experience an abrupt and chilling change of weather.

A fast-moving storm will push away the pool of warm air that produced record high temperatures over the weekend, replacing it with the coldest conditions the region has seen (so far) this winter, according to the National Weather Service.



For the record: An earlier version of this story said that San Diego’s seasonal rainfall, to date, was 20.07 inches above normal. The correct figure is 2.07 inches

San Diego’s daytime high will be 60 degrees on Monday — 20 degrees cooler than it was on Saturday. Tuesday’s high will be 59, which will be the coldest daytime high of the winter, to date.

The average high in early February is 65.


The pre-dawn temperatures Monday will range from 42 in Oceanside to 47 in San Diego, with sharply lower readings east of Interstate 15. Tuesday will be even colder with Oceanside and Escondido falling to 34 degrees while San Diego dips to 42. Julian will drop to 24 degrees.

The air may feel even colder at the coast, where the wind is expected to blow 15 mph to 20 mph through noon Monday. The wind is expected to be even wilder in the offshore waters, gusting to 40 mph near San Clemente Island early Monday. The waves could reach 18 feet or higher within 20 to 25 miles off the coast. Forecasters are advising boaters to remain in the harbor until Monday afternoon.

A beach hazards advisory will be in effect until 5 a.m. on Tuesday due to elevated surf that’s expected to reach the 4-foot to 6-foot range, with isolated sets up to 7 feet. The rip currents will be very strong.

"(The) highest sets are expected in southern San Diego County,” the weather service says in an advisory. “Though waves are not expected to be significantly large, the amount of water moving in due to strong winds and associated swell may result in flooding of low-lying beach areas and parking lots, along with minor beach erosion.”


The sea surface temperatures along the coast will be in the 57- to 62-degree range.

San Diego County might get sporadic drizzle, especially in the mountains, on Monday. But the region won’t receive significant rain for at least a week.

Since the rain season began on Oct. 1, San Diego International Airport has recorded 7.23 inches of precipitation, which is 2.07 inches above average.

