Hot and dry temperatures in San Diego County are expected to set in starting Thursday and continuing through Saturday as another ridge of high pressure and mild Santa Ana winds take hold.
Temperatures along the coast could reach 20 to 25 degrees above average, soaring to the 90-degree mark or higher on Thursday and Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Inland highs are expected to reach the mid-90s.
“A few areas over the lower deserts may see their first triple digit readings of the year by Saturday afternoon,” weather service forecasters posted on Facebook.
The forecast is almost a replay of last week when a three-day heat wave shattered previous daytime high temperatures by as much as 9 degrees at Lindbergh Field.
“Temperatures continue to dominate, and they are extreme,” said meteorologist Alex Tardy.
January was 4 degrees above average, and February was nearly 5 degrees above average. Rainfall at San Diego Lindbergh Field, the city's primary weather monitoring station, remains 4.07 inches below average for this period.
“We are expecting the rest of March to be dry with only the slight possibility of some precipitation toward the end of the month,” Tardy said.
Drought pressures are expected to increase through spring in San Diego County and across the state, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.
