KXO Radio AM1230 and FM 107.5

In May and June, as temperatures in the Imperial Valley soar, our thoughts turn to the cooler weather at the beaches. It's true it will be cooler at the beaches. The average daily high temperature near the ocean in San Diego in both May and June is 70 degrees, while in the Imperial Valley the average high in May is 94 and in June 102.

I may be cooler at the beaches at this time of year, but the coast is often cloudy. May is actually the cloudiest month of the year in San Diego.  In May, San Diego averages only 60 percent of the possible sunshine.  Low overcast clouds from the ocean move inland at nights and finally break up at the beaches the following afternoon.

The base of the clouds is usually about 1000 feet and the tops at 2000 feet. On some days the clouds are thicker, with the cloud bases at 800 feet and cloud tops at 3500 feet.  When the cloud tops are up to 3,000 to 3,500 feet, the clouds are so thick that the overcast remains all day at the beaches. 

San Diego has names for their continued cloudiness at this time of year. They call it the May Gray and the June gloom. 

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