San Diego could hit 80 degrees Thursday

Written by
Gary Robbins
4:59 p.m., Jan. 25, 2012
Updated 5:47 p.m.

It's hard not to feel spoiled living in San Diego. We've had a few brief, weak storms this month. But we won't get another one until at least February. And Thursday's weather is going to be phenomenal.

Forecasters say the high in downtown San Diego will rise to the 78-80 degree level due to high pressure and light, dry offshore winds. The daytime highs also will reach the 70s on Friday and Saturday. The normal for this time of year is 65, says the National Weather Service.

As for the rain situation ... Bill Patzert, a climatologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena says, "San Diego's Lindbergh (Field) is at 4..97", 103% of normal (for the rainy season). "It's the only station in CA above one-hundred percent. They got some early storms.

"La Nina is still strong. But the AO (Arctic Oscillation) climate pattern has switched from being strongly positive since October to weakly negative. This should send some N. Pacific storms our way, or go back to positive and keep us dry. The AO is the wild card!"

Other projected highs for Thursday: Oceanside, 76; Miramar MCAS, 79; Chula Vista, 82; Fallbrook, 84; Escondido, 83; Rancho Bernardo, 84; El Cajon, 85.

Surfline says a new west-northwest swell will arrive late Thursday afternoon. Projected wave heights at 4 p.m.:

Oceanside Harbor: 8-11 feet

Ponto: 7-10 feet

Beacons: 8-12 feet

Moonlight Beach: 9-13 feet

Swami's: 8-11 feet

Del Mar Rivermouth: 9-12 feet

Blacks: 9-14 feet

Scripps: 5-7 feet

La Jolla Shores: 5-7 feet

Windansea: 14-20 feet

Pacific Beach: 11-15 feet

Imperial Beach Pier: 12-17 feet

Mission Beach: 11-16 feet

Ocean Beach: 14-21 feet

Sunset Cliffs: 14-20 feet

Photo slideshow: Surfer's eye view of the waves off Del Mar

Scripps Institution of Oceanography gets $1 million for unique ocean microscope

SD could hit 80 degrees Thursday | UTSanDiego.com