Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Return of the Santa Anas

Santa Anas, Hot and Smoggy Days, Zodiacal Light

Late September signals the beginning of Santa Ana winds, which may continue intermittently through the winter. Early Santa Anas are often responsible for coastal San Diego's hottest and driest days of the year. Records show that 62 percent of the days at Lindbergh Field with 90-degree readings or higher have occurred during the months of September and October. The desert-like days are a consequence of dry air from a high-pressure area centered over Nevada or Utah moving across southern California's coastal mountains toward a low pressure area offshore in the Pacific Ocean. West of the mountains the air sinks as it rushes toward the coast, heating (by compression) about 5-1/2 degrees F for every 1000 feet of descent. During a full-blown Santa Ana, gale-force winds rake the foothills downwind of the mountain passes, and San Diego's coastal communities often experience temperatures that are among the nation's highest.

Escaping the heat of this season's first couple of Santa Anas will not be easy — if you can't be inside air-conditioned buildings at any rate. Along the coastline, where temperatures may reach the 90s, taking a dip in the surf solves the problem. Inland, the furnace-like heat is moderated only by increases in altitude. Head for the high places of the county-- the mile-plus heights of the Palomar and Laguna Mountains, for example. You could climb a couple of the county's loftiest peaks: Cuyamaca Peak (6512') in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, or Boucher Hill (5438') in Palomar Mountain State Park. On peaks such as these during a Santa-Ana-wind episode, the thermometer registers about 25-30 degrees lower than in the lowlands. Since the early phase of a Santa Ana sweeps away atmospheric water vapor and air pollution, hundred-mile vistas in every direction may be yours to enjoy.

The smoggiest days of the year are most likely to occur during the next several weeks. Persistent temperature inversions (warmer air overlying cool marine air) are frequent this time of year. These inversions conspire with the mountainous topography of East County to trap locally generated air pollution under a low-lying lid. During the worst episodes, San Diego County's coastal area is the hapless recipient of additional smog sneaking down from the Los Angeles Basin. This often occurs when a Santa Ana wind condition begins to weaken: L.A. smog blown offshore by a Santa Ana may get pushed back our way when the normal sea breeze returns.

The zodiacal light, which can appear as a diffuse, pillar-shaped glow in the eastern sky for up to an hour before dawn, will be quite conspicuous at dark locations this weekend and through the next two weeks (September 27 through October 10). The subtle glow is caused by the sun's light reflecting off dust particles floating in space in the plane of our solar system. In the sky, this reflected light appears superimposed along the string of constellations we know as the zodiac, and especially those zodiacal constellations closest to the direction of the sun. An old name for this phenomenon is "false dawn" -- a good description of the effect under clear and very dark skies.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents
Next Article

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents

Late September signals the beginning of Santa Ana winds, which may continue intermittently through the winter. Early Santa Anas are often responsible for coastal San Diego's hottest and driest days of the year. Records show that 62 percent of the days at Lindbergh Field with 90-degree readings or higher have occurred during the months of September and October. The desert-like days are a consequence of dry air from a high-pressure area centered over Nevada or Utah moving across southern California's coastal mountains toward a low pressure area offshore in the Pacific Ocean. West of the mountains the air sinks as it rushes toward the coast, heating (by compression) about 5-1/2 degrees F for every 1000 feet of descent. During a full-blown Santa Ana, gale-force winds rake the foothills downwind of the mountain passes, and San Diego's coastal communities often experience temperatures that are among the nation's highest.

Escaping the heat of this season's first couple of Santa Anas will not be easy — if you can't be inside air-conditioned buildings at any rate. Along the coastline, where temperatures may reach the 90s, taking a dip in the surf solves the problem. Inland, the furnace-like heat is moderated only by increases in altitude. Head for the high places of the county-- the mile-plus heights of the Palomar and Laguna Mountains, for example. You could climb a couple of the county's loftiest peaks: Cuyamaca Peak (6512') in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, or Boucher Hill (5438') in Palomar Mountain State Park. On peaks such as these during a Santa-Ana-wind episode, the thermometer registers about 25-30 degrees lower than in the lowlands. Since the early phase of a Santa Ana sweeps away atmospheric water vapor and air pollution, hundred-mile vistas in every direction may be yours to enjoy.

The smoggiest days of the year are most likely to occur during the next several weeks. Persistent temperature inversions (warmer air overlying cool marine air) are frequent this time of year. These inversions conspire with the mountainous topography of East County to trap locally generated air pollution under a low-lying lid. During the worst episodes, San Diego County's coastal area is the hapless recipient of additional smog sneaking down from the Los Angeles Basin. This often occurs when a Santa Ana wind condition begins to weaken: L.A. smog blown offshore by a Santa Ana may get pushed back our way when the normal sea breeze returns.

The zodiacal light, which can appear as a diffuse, pillar-shaped glow in the eastern sky for up to an hour before dawn, will be quite conspicuous at dark locations this weekend and through the next two weeks (September 27 through October 10). The subtle glow is caused by the sun's light reflecting off dust particles floating in space in the plane of our solar system. In the sky, this reflected light appears superimposed along the string of constellations we know as the zodiac, and especially those zodiacal constellations closest to the direction of the sun. An old name for this phenomenon is "false dawn" -- a good description of the effect under clear and very dark skies.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Temperature inversions bring smoggy weather, "ankle biters" still biting

Near-new moon will lead to a dark Halloween
Next Article

Smoggy Days Ahead

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader