Cool, mostly gray day to follow drippy morning

May gray became May drippy across much of San Diego County early Monday morning, with many spots recording measurable rain. More gray weather is in store for the work week, although probably not more rain, National Weather Service forecasters say.

A low-pressure system moving down California is responsible for the light rain. The low is expected to settle over the Mojave Desert Monday, bringing a chance of thunderstorms to the mountains of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, but San Diego County should stay dry the rest of the day.

Continued cool weather is forecast through Friday around the county. The coast is not expected to top 70 degrees, and clearing should be limited. The inland valleys should see more sun but stay cooler than normal, with highs not rising above the mid 70s.

The mountains should be in the 60s and low 70s all week, and the desert is not expected to hit 100 degrees.

Chula Vista, with 0.04 of an inch of rain as of 7 a.m. on Monday, was the wettest spot along the county coast. Carlsbad had 0.03, Oceanside and La Jolla 0.02, and Encinitas got 0.01. San Diego International Airport, site of the city’s official weather station, recorded no rain.

Rainbow Camp, near the Riverside County border, was the wettest inland valley location, with 0.11. Lake Wohlford near Escondido had 0.07, but most inland had just a couple hundredths of an inch, and some areas recorded no rain.

Brandt Maxwell, a forecaster for the National Weather Service, said the marine layer will remain very deep on Tuesday, then weaken slightly but remain intact the rest of the week.

“I don’t see any indication of warm, sunny weather at the coast for the next week,” Maxwell said.

He said the cool stretch, which has lasted most of the month, is not unusual, although recent Mays have not been this cool.

“Memories are short,” Maxwell said. “This certainly feels cool, but if you go back to the ’70s and ’80s, there were a lot of cold Mays.”

On the plus side, Maxwell said, the persistent, deep marine layer and cool conditions delay the start of the fire season, which in recent years has become nearly year-round.

rob.krier@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-2241

Twitter: @sdutKrier