It seems like I never have luck with weather on vacations. Oh well, I am not going to let rain hold me back. I'm used to it; living in upstate New York with about 14 clear days a year! What I wanted to know is do highways 78 and 79 going towards Salton Sea get foggy and hard to drive during rain showers? How about the desert that way? Dust Storms?

You will have to beware of flash floods in the desert and, at higher elevations before you dip down to the desert, possible snow. The weather service has been pretty good about warning the areas which burned in the Cedar and Paradise fires about heavy rain which could, and has, caused mudslides. It hasn't started to rain yet and no alerts have been issued so far. Keep your radio on.

the only other thing i found in san diego as compared to other parts of the country that more precipitation, their roads are more slippery when its raining hard so slow down a bit.

The roads are slippery during the first rains following several months of no rain. The reason is the oil which has collected on the pavement over the rain-free months. That is NOT the case now. We had a substantial amount of rain in October and the roads are not oil-slick now.

No surprise in mid November.
M

Actually, Mikemo, we have had very little rain for several years. In October this year, we had more rain than ever before in an October. So this year it is a big and very welcome surprise that we're getting all thisrain.

I checked Weather.com and there has been a sudden change in weather. Blue skies after all!

It actually looks like there may be a few showers on Sunday, probably not enough to ruin your trip. It will however be a little cloudy and not as warm as it often is this time of year. At least it won't be raining hard as it has been doing the last few weeks (Yeah, we need the rain).

This rain in San Diego thread made me laugh - a couple years ago my husband and I went to SD in February for a wedding. Rain in SD actually delayed our flight into SD. We had a convertible reserved at the car rental place, and considered changing it, but took the convertible anyway - living dangerously, I guess When we got to the hotel, this storm was all over the news. They had gotten a little more than a 1/2 inch of rain. My GOD - a half inch. Throughout the weekend we had the occasional sprinkles, but still had the top down most of the time and only put on a jacket a couple times.

J Correa - It is true that rain in San Diego and all of Southern California can become quite the news story but that is because in the last 3-4 years we have had so little. I think it usually averages around 9 inches of rain a year and we have been nowhere near that. We usually don't get much rain in October, if we get any it's in Dec, Jan, Feb and maybe March. When the rain started this year in October we hadn't had any rain for over 6 months-I believe that was a record. The city of San Diego had 4-5 inches in just a couple of days and where I live further north we had over 7 inches. So as you can imagine that becomes quite the story and then add to that the oil slick freeways, people who drive too fast in the rain and all the mudslides in the areas of last years big fire. Streets overflow because storm drains haven't been used in 6 months and are clogged with debris. I agree that getting 1/2 an inch doesn't seem like much but in these past few years where we barely made 5 inches for the year, that 1/2 inch is alot.

paula1470

Great explanation of why rain is news.

It is usually very cold where we live in the midwest and when we come to visit in November we often walk around in short sleeves. Often the locals have on a jacket and even gloves!

You are so lucky to live in such a nice city.

Sandy

Oh yeah, I understand why it's news. I just thought it was kind of funny.

I agree that I always get a laugh when rain headlines the evening news. Can't believe that your flight was delayed by rain-it's sad when even the airports don't know what to do with a little water!!

ttt

It's really nice falling asleep to the sound of rain outside. We get to do it so rarely that it's a treat. And we have an real excuse to have fires in the fireplace. I particularly enjoy driving in the rain (but not the freeways) when it's cold and wet outside, but I'm dry and warm in my little metal cocoon. Of course, it's easier to enjoy it knowing that in a day or so the weather will be sunny again.

Every time my one companion and I see overhead heaters anywhere we both look at each other and break into laughter. I know we are easily amused, but it brings to mine that Oct. night in San Diego when we were watching the World Series in an open air bar/ cafe and we asked to be moved. They originally put us under these overhead heaters (sort of suspended on poles.) We had on very light/ short sleeve clothing and every one around us was in sweaters / jackets and a whole table near us had a crowd also wearing fingertip-less knit or leather gloves. Honestly, it was a style I had never seen before- probably because it would be so useless in our neck of the woods. Reminded me of Bob Kratchit working as a scrivener. Anyway after one move, we both looked at each other and then looked around- eventually moving to the total outside of the enclosure- better view of the screen too. One young man was very sweet and didn't want to take our old "under the overhead heaters" seats. Couldn't get over us giving them up. It was 57-60 degrees out.

Today it is a balmy 60 degrees in Chicago and we aren't even wearing coats on campus, some tummies are even showing. Still! Talk about relative comfort levels, ours here is much, much wider.

Love the rain on the roof, love the sound of the fireplace crackling and the aroma of the apple logs burning away. Almost time for turkey day.

And then by December's turn the snow and winds will be flying and we will get our red cheeks back. Weather does not affect our good times, ever. We dress for it, and if we get snowed it or at the airport. Then Eureka, it's time for a party.

I feel like a total wimp whenever I travel to a colder place in the winter time. My California self can't deal with the cold.

Last March I had to travel to Connecticut for work. Sunday I was at home (SF Bay Area) hanging out in a friend's pool, enjoying the warm weather. Admittedly, we WERE having a heatwave. Monday I flew to Connecticut and was plunged into cold cold weather - on the edge of Long Island Sound, with the wind whipping around, chilling me to the bone. I was walking around all bundled up and everyone else was in light windbreakers.

You're not a wimp. The body does something over time, it acclimates. My uncle was a tough outside worker in Chicago, but after he acclimated to Florida he couldn't even sit on my patio on a late summer's evening without noticing every sweep of wind- and asking for a jacket.

One of my sons doesn't ever wear a coat unless it is actively blizzarding or he has to be outside for long periods of time when it's under freezing, about 32 degrees or so. Drives me nuts, but he says he is too hot if he does. He's also the one who hates summer and loves hockey. Not all people like the warm weather as a given or crave steaming beaches. But you are definitely not a wimp if you feel the cold more after living in temperate all the time. Your body's regulator hasn't had a chance to be tested, so it's not going to be very good at conserving.