Chilled out: San Diego has had as many 72-plus-degree days as Anchorage over past 2 months
San Diego – and much of the Southern California coast – has been mired in a weeks-long rut of their "May gray" that has morphed into a "June gloom" marine layer with nary a break.
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SAN DIEGO – You know your summer has had a bit of a false start when you're matching temperature wits with the likes of Alaska.
San Diego – and much of the Southern California coast – has been mired in a weeks-long rut of their "May gray" that has morphed into a "June gloom" marine layer with nary a break.
Their last warm day – let's say, 80 degrees, typically an easy achievement for Southern California – last came on April 22, when it hit a balmy 81 degrees. In the two months since, San Diego has peaked at 72 degrees – and just once through Monday.
Even Anchorage, Alaska, has managed to reach 72 degrees once in that time period. However, that's one more time than the area around Los Angeles' LAX Airport, which has yet to reach 72 since April 22.
On the other hand, Seattle has reached at least 72 degrees 20 times in that span. Minneapolis has only had one day cooler than 72 degrees in the past 30 days.
The gloomiest of June glooms
Going through stretches of cool, cloudy weather is not unusual in Southern California this time of year. The sun is warm, but ocean waters off Southern California are still in the 50s and lower 60s, which cools the air into fog. Nightly onshore marine breezes carry the fog and clouds inland.
RIVERSIDE, CA - MAY 31, 2023: Under a ceiling of gray clouds, De'Lisa Yater, left, of Norco and her sister Danielle Yater ride their horses Arrow and Zeus, respectively at Hidden Valley Wildlife Area on May 31, 2023 in Riverside, California.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images)
But typically, there are breaks in the gloomy pattern. An offshore wind will push the clouds out to sea, and the day will be filled with sunshine and above-average warmth. That's what happened on April 21-22 but hasn't been seen since, as a persistent pattern of West Coast troughs – dips in the jet stream – keeps the marine winds blowing.
It's been so cloudy that in May, San Diego was found to be the cloudiest city in the continental U.S., with an average daily cloud cover of 82.6%. June has only seen the slightest improvements so far at 82.1% cloud cover through Monday. How are San Diego residents holding up?
"The only real feedback we have seen about how people feel about it is on social media, and many are wanting more sunshine and warmer temperatures," the National Weather Service office in San Diego said. "A lot of people who live within a few miles of the coast won't travel super far inland in search of the sunshine, and the coast is pretty densely populated."
Despite the everlasting gray, the coldest day amid the gloomy stretch was only 4 degrees below average.
Looking for sun? Head east
The weather pattern through the end of the week shows little to no sign of improvement for San Diego, with still the daily dose of marine clouds keeping high temperatures around or below 70 degrees – though the FOX Weather app shows the forecast high for Tuesday in San Diego could claw its way to 72 degrees for just the second time since late April. And warmer weather with highs in the upper 70s is finally in the long-range forecast.
However, it's not as if all of Southern California is in the fog. Heading east away from the beaches and the marine influence will find sunnier and warmer days with temperatures reaching the 70s and 80s.