San Diego County to slowly take on feel of winter this week

San Diego County will gradually take on the feel of winter this week with cooler temperatures, a bit of rain and maybe even a dusting of snow on the highest peaks.

But the National Weather Service says that the region won’t get a good soaking of rain, which is badly needed in a county that’s experiencing moderate drought.

San Diego’s daytime high Tuesday will be 65, three degrees below normal. It also will be 65 on Wednesday, then 63 on Thursday and 61 on Friday.

A tiny low pressure system is expected to produce showers early Tuesday. The moisture will slicken freeways but won’t amount to more than 0.10 inches of precipitation at the coast.

A larger system will arrive on Thursday and will likely generate showers into Friday. But the precipitation will be light, amounting to little more than 0.20 inches at the coast and modestly higher amounts inland.

Forecasters say the storm also will produce light snow that will mostly be at the 7,000 foot level, but some flakes could drop lower, hitting the peaks of Mount Laguna and Palomar Mountain.

“The storm will be a glancing blow that will usher in colder weather,” said James Brotherton, a weather service forecaster.

San Diego International Airport has recorded 1.01 inches of precipitation since the rainy season began on October 1. The average for this point in the season is 1.47 inches.