US freezes, San Diego heat records fall

Thanksgiving was truly a day of thanks if you’re into surfing, hiking, biking or anything else that gets a lift from fair weather.

A stubborn high pressure system sent temperature records tumbling across San Diego County, including at Lindbergh Field, which topped out at 85 degrees. That’s two degrees higher than the previous record for November 27th, set in 1903, when Theodore Roosevelt was president.

Riverside was the hottest spot in the nation on Thanksgiving, recording a high of 94. But San Diego was 12 degrees warmer than Miami, and 39 degrees hotter than Atlanta, where a unusually cold weather settled in.

The National Weather Service says that records also were broken in El Cajon, which reported a high of 91, four degrees above the record set in 2011, and in Alpine, where it was 86. That’s two degrees above the previous record for November 27th, set in 2011. The temperature reached 78 at Palomar Mountain, breaking the record by four degrees. The previous record was set in 1977. It was even warmer in Lake Cuyamaca, which hit 84, or five degrees higher than the record set in 1977. Chula Vista topped out at 86, one degree higher than the record established in 2011. And Escondido reached 89, three degrees higher than the record set in 1945.

Friday’s daytime high will be about 10 degrees cooler in San Diego, reaching 76, which is still almost 10 degrees above normal. Seasonal weather won’t return until Saturday.

The weather service also said it is greatly reducing the amount of rain that it expects to fall from a storm that should arrive on Monday. Forecasters earlier said that 1’’ or more of rain could fall west of the mountains, and twice as much to the east. But the weather service says it now appears that San Diego and other spots at and near the coast will receive 0.25’’ to 0.50’’ of precipitation.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the country:

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