Golden State WeatherRegionsSan Diego County & the Border

San Diego County & the Border

Three climates in sixty miles: semi-arid coast, mountain pine forest, and open desert.

Catalina eddySanta Ana outflowSummer monsoon on the eastern crest

San Diego's reputation is one climate and its geography is three. The coast runs about 10 inches of rain a year — technically semi-arid, not Mediterranean. Sixty miles east and 6,000 feet up, Mount Laguna and Palomar take 30-plus inches and hold snow. Immediately past the crest the ground falls into the Anza-Borrego desert, which takes 3. The county also owns a circulation of its own: the Catalina eddy, a counter-clockwise coastal spin that deepens the marine layer and can hold the beaches grey for days.

Elevation range: 0 ft → 6,533 ftHigh point: Hot Springs Mountain
Relief: 6,533 ftTop to bottom, inside this region
Span: 95 × 72 miEast–west by north–south
Annual rainfall: 3–35″Driest to wettest ground here
Köppen types: BShCsaBWh1 county

Open climate division

Map of San Diego County & the Border within California.

Where it is. The highlighted frame is this region's viewport; the others are its neighbours.

The four seasons here

NOT A GENERIC SEASON WITH THE PLACE NAME SWAPPED IN

Winter

Wet season, but a short one — and heavily dependent on whether storms track far enough south.

Spring

Marine layer strengthens; the mountains still see snow into April.

Summer

Coast mild and grey in the mornings; the mountains and desert pick up monsoon thunderstorms from July.

Autumn

The hottest coastal days of the year arrive on Santa Ana winds in September and October.

Places in this region

3 PLACES, LOWEST FIRST

NOAA/NCEI 1991–2020 monthly normals, from the nearest publishing station at a comparable elevation. Full twelve-month tables are on each place's own page.
Place	Elevation	Jan high	Jan low	Jul high	Jul low	Annual precip	Snow
San Diego	62	66°	50°	75°	66°	9.8″	—
Escondido	660	69°	45°	87°	64°	14.5″	—
Mount Laguna	5,980	50°	33°	83°	60°	17.6″	—

Terrain and gradients

WHAT THE ELEVATION ACTUALLY DOES

-0.3°FJuly lapse rate per 1,000 ft

-2.8°FJanuary lapse rate per 1,000 ft

+1.0″Rainfall per 1,000 ft

1.8×Highest ÷ lowest station precipitation

Ranges and passes

A PASS IS A WIND FEATURE FIRST

No named range or pass sits wholly inside this region.

Who forecasts it

OFFICIAL FORECASTS AND WARNINGS COME FROM HERE

NWS San DiegoSan Diego, the Inland Empire and the low desertNWS SGXWEATHER.GOV

Golden State Weather is not a source of watches or warnings. For those, go to the offices above.

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