RAIN CHANCES THIS WEEKEND

A few showers are possible on Saturday, though it won't be a washout. A sprinkle or two could linger into Sunday, but most of the day looks dry. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day both look dry and cool.

WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR'S

We will have a chance for some showers Sunday into Monday (Christmas Eve), then Christmas looks dry and cool. A better chance for rain should arrive by the middle of next week (Wednesday). A cold blast of air will follow behind for the end of next week (Thursday, Friday). I'm also watching for the possibility of more rain for the end of the month (Sunday 12/30), however, it looks like New Year's Eve and New Year's Day will be dry.

SOME MORE RAIN HEADED THIS WAY

A few showers will pass the area tonight and into Tuesday. Most of the rain should be gone tomorrow afternoon and evening. Some light rain could return for the upcoming weekend as well, though there are some uncertainties on the strength of this next system.

RAIN TOTALS FRIDAY & SATURDAY 12/14/2012 TO 12/15/2012

SAN DIEGO COUNTY RAINFALL TOTALS, THURSDAY DECEMBER 13, 2012

A passing shower is still possible tonight, however, it won't amount to much. Here are the totals from earlier today - many areas received over an inch of much needed rainfall.

 

 

UPDATE: THURSDAY 7:30 AM

A round of widespread moderate to heavy rain showers will continue to drift east over the next couple hours (8-10 AM). An isolated shower or thunderstorm could bring a quick downpour in the afternoon and evening, however, the rain will not be nearly as widespread as it was this morning. Rain chances then diminish by Friday morning.

It looks like this weekend's rain chance has moved into Saturday instead of Sunday. Some light rain is also possible for the middle of next week.

ACTIVE WEATHER AHEAD

We will see a couple storm systems in the near future. These will bring SoCal our first threat for some real rainfall. A few showers will arrive late Wednesday and intensify into early Thursday. Another chance for rain will arrive Sunday and possibly again by the middle of next week.

WINTER OUTLOOK 2012-2013

 

 

SUMMARY

The past couple months have been warm and dry in San Diego. Given the overall state of the atmosphere and Pacific Ocean, I think this trend will continue through the winter of 2012-2013. Average rainfall during meteorological winter (December, January and February) is 5.78". I'm expecting 2 to 5". The average high temperature for December, January and February is 64.7, 65.1 and 65.0 respectively. I'm expecting average highs to hover 1 to 2 degrees above these values. It is important to remember that these are averages - there will still be cold rainy days this winter.

The areas to watch this year will be the Pacific Northwest for flooding rains, and the northern Ohio River Valley into New England for potentially heavy snow events. In addition, I'm expecting drought conditions to continue/worsen for the High Plains and parts of the northern Midwest. The Southeast could also see increasing drought conditions.

For my snow-loving friends in Richmond, there should be several chances for a big snow this winter. For this reason, I'm going for above-average total accumulations for December through February (9 to 14").