Overdue for Hurricane? Not Today: Sunny and Mild

Thus far this year it’s been an exceptionally active and unusually tragic season of national severe weather, from nearly incomprehensible destruction in the Plains and Southeast to rare tornadoes earlier this week in New England. And it’s only the beginning of June (the severe-weather window typically extends from April to September, including extra-tropical activity in the Atlantic). Experts can and will debate root causes: global warming or natural cycling of thermo flows.

Regardless, La Mesa has and continues to boast fair weather, though admittedly the 2010–2011 precipitation season (coming to a close June 30) is aiming to be impressive at 16.60 inches—well on the upper side of average.

Just earlier this week, however, tropical weather expert Rick Knabb of The Weather Channel assigned San Diego as the second-most overdue US city to endure a hurricane. Not since 1858 has a hurricane made landfall so far north from the eastern Pacific basin to affect our region (OK, we have experienced upper-level, outer-rim effects since then, including humidity and rain). As unlikely as a hurricane here may seem, local National Weather Service officials are prepared with tropical watches and warnings.

Now, to matters of the more routine.

Friday forecast: Sunny with a daytime high near 74. Calm wind becoming west between 5 and 10 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with late patchy fog and a low around 53. West wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.

Saturday forecast: Early morning patchy fog, then mostly sunny with a daytime high near 72. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with late patchy fog and a low around 53.

Extended forecast: Early morning patchy fog, then mostly sunny both Sunday and Monday with daytime highs near 73 and 69, respectively. Partly to mostly cloudy overnight with lows in the low 50s.

Thursday conditions: Early morning patchy fog, then sunny with a daytime high of 73. Wind mainly from the northwest between 10 and 20 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low around 53. Northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.

For a projection of conditions over the next 7 days, please visit the La Mesa forecast page of the National Weather Service.

Data span from 12 a.m. to time of column submission for the day.

The above observations and forecast apply to La Mesa area spanning ZIP codes 91941 to 91944. Due to geographic effect, modest variation may apply for surrounding communities including Mount Helix, Casa de Oro and Spring Valley.

This column appears four times weekly: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (sometimes different days per week based on schedule or notable weather-related event).