Cool, mostly sunny weather on tap for San Diego over the first weekend of summer

The first weekend of summer will be three to five degrees cooler than normal but mostly sunny during the day with decent surf at the coast, according to the National Weather Service.

The summer solstice will occur at 2:44 p.m. on Saturday, followed by the peak of the new moon at 11:41 p.m. By then, low clouds will have drifted ashore, all the way into the western valleys, where they’ll remain until mid-morning Sunday.

“We won’t get the kind of ‘June gloom’ that lasts all day at the beaches,” said James Brotherton, a weather service forecaster. “We’re not going to get socked in. We’re not expecting drizzle.”

The region will be transitioning from a weak low-pressure system to weak-to-moderate high pressure.

The daytime high temperature in San Diego will be 70 on Friday, 69 on Saturday and 73 on Sunday. The seasonal average is 71.

Escondido will be in the 87-to-88 degree range all three days, while Alpine fluctuates between 77 on Friday and 85 on Sunday. Oceanside will be in the 70-72 degree range.

The weather service says swells out of the south and west will produce waves in the 2-foot to 3-foot range throughout the weekend, with occasional sets to 4 feet. The rip currents will be dangerous countywide on Saturday.

Sea surface temperatures will be in the 65-to-69 degree range, which is a bit on the cool side. Recent winds have caused a lot of coastal upwelling, knocking down water temperatures.

People who plan to sail along the coast can expect light winds all weekend, with waves mostly in the 2-foot range offshore. Air temperatures will be in the low-to-mid 60s.

The high pressure system will grow stronger late Sunday into Monday, lifting temperatures in many areas.