San Diego Weather Outlook - Christmas & New Year's

(WARMER FOR CHRISTMAS)

SUMMARY

The San Diego area will see an extended period of dry weather with high temperatures hovering near or above 70 degrees for the last week of this year.

DISCUSSION

We have been stuck in the same weather pattern for the past couple months, where temperatures have been slightly below average and rainfall has been slightly above average. Things are about to change for the last week of this year. Southern California will see a brief break in this pattern. I'm expecting no rain and temperatures to remain above normal from Christmas Eve all the way through New Year's Day.

The jet stream will migrate far north of our area, which is called a ridge (indicated by the arrow on the map below). This will allow warmer air to return and keep us dry.

(FLOW IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE - 500MB HEIGHTS)

The ridge flattens a little by the end of this month (shown by the arrow below), but the overall pattern persists. In fact, I don't see this pattern breaking down until possibly the middle of January. Cooler weather and rain could return to the West Coast during that time period.

(FLOW IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE - 500MB HEIGHTS)