An estimated 750,000 San Diego County residents will be under a freeze warning from 10 p.m. Monday to 10 a.m. Wednesday due to the arrival of a cold air mass that will make temperatures up to 10 degrees cooler than normal at the coast and up to 15 degrees cooler inland.

The warning was issued by the National Weather Service, which says the coldest weather will likely affect people who live east of Interstate 15. They’ll be hit by the brunt of an “inside slider,” a winter storm that drops down the center of California.

The slider has been pulling in cold air from the Great Basin and Sierra Nevada. Temperatures also might drop to the freezing level at Oceanside Airport, where cold air drains into the area from an adjoining valley.

San Diego will drop to 42 degrees before dawn on Tuesday and to 40 on Wednesday.


“People should get ready for this and make sure their animals are inside along with sensitive plants,” said James Brotherton, a weather service forecaster. “And you should look out for your friends and neighbors if they don’t have adequate heating.”