It’s been so hot in San Diego, we feel your pain. After an 11-day heat wave that prompted the National Weather Service (NWS) to extend local Excessive Heat Warnings twice, forecasters say rain is on the way.
According to the NWS and National Hurricane Center (NHC), heavy rain + strong winds are expected to sweep San Diego County tonight and this weekend — a result of Hurricane Kay forming off the coast of Mexico. Here’s what we know.
🧭 Tracking Kay
Hurricane Kay is tracking north — parallel to the Baja California peninsula — through today. NWS says it won’t directly hit San Diego County, but CNN says it will make the closest pass to Southern California for a hurricane since Hurricane Nora in 1997.
When it’s ~150-250 miles from San Diego, it’ll start to weaken to more of a tropical storm. The NHC is tracking Kay here.
🌧️ Impact to local weather
As Kay weakens, the NWS expects an “abrupt change” in SoCal’s extreme weather pattern — from windy + hot through this evening, to “tropical and wet with flash flooding potential” late Friday through Saturday. During this time, local areas from the mountains east into the desert could get between 2-4 inches of rain.
In addition to heavy rain, the NHC says Kay’s biggest impacts to SoCal are gusty winds + dangerous ocean conditions. To that end, the NWS has issued a couple of new weather warnings:
- High Wind Watch for San Diego County’s coastal areas through this evening, with east winds reaching 25-35 mph, and possible gusts up to 55 mph. 🌬️
- Beach Hazards Statement — also for coastal areas — through Sunday evening, with the impacts from Kay causing elevated surf of 3-6 ft, plus strong rip currents and longshore currents. 🌊
Post-rain, slightly cooler weather is expected next week.
📲 Local resources
- Due to the potentially heavy rain, the county and Cal Fire are offering free sandbags to locals in unincorporated areas. The supplies can be picked up at fire stations in communities like Bonita, Boulevard, Dulzura, Fallbrook, Julian + Ramona — but call ahead to confirm availability.
- Meanwhile, the county’s Ready San Diego emergency preparedness website has info on protecting yourself + your property during flooding.
- The city has compiled storm preparedness tips, too.
- You can also sign up for local emergency alerts through AlertSanDiego.
- Keep an eye on NWS updates here and via Twitter.
- The NHC will continue to track Kay’s progress here.