Southern California's June gloom could be clearing, warming

Southern California’s persistent June gloom is finally clearing, but more rain is possible

Two people run after another who is hang gliding off of a small bluff on a beach.

By Grace TooheyStaff Writer

June 12, 2023 11:51 AM PT

After weeks of a particularly persistent bout of overcast weather as May gray dragged on into June gloom, forecasters are hopeful Southern California could see some clearing and warming by the end of this week.

“As the week goes on we have a slightly better chance of seeing peeks of sun,” said David Sweet, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Oxnard. “There’s a trough of low pressure that remains in the area through the week, but it gets weaker and weaker each day.”

Any shift in the gloomy weather pattern will be gradual, Sweet noted, with temperatures still in the 60s for much of the region Monday — about 10 to 15 degrees below average. In some parts of San Diego County, daily low maximum temperature records were set Sunday, with Alpine and El Cajon reaching highs of only 58 and 63, breaking records from the 1960s.

“We’re looking at a weather pattern that is very favorable for the development of low clouds and fog,” Sweet said. “It’s gloomy out there.”

This season’s chilly, gray spring has been “a pretty aggressive, persistent form,” he said, as a trough of low pressure has sat stationary over much of Southern California.

“It’s causing these very weak low pressure systems to form, and that’s keeping the low clouds and fog in place,” Sweet said.

On Monday morning, Sweet said his team had caught some glimpses of sunshine poking through the clouds in downtown Los Angeles, which should continue in the coming days. By Friday, high temperatures could reach the mid-70s for much of L.A. County’s coast and valleys.

“The clouds over L.A. County are starting to break up a little bit,” Sweet said. “We are starting to see a few breaks here and there.”

But as the marine layer, fog and clouds continue, Sweet said there’s a continued chance for light rain in the area, especially in the mornings across the San Gabriel foothills.

California has received 23.2 inches of rain so far this year, compared with an historical average of 22.2.

And through at least Thursday, there is also an “outsize chance” for afternoon thunderstorms in the Ventura and San Gabriel mountains, which could bring the possibility of local flooding, small hail and gusty winds.

As the month progresses — with the official start to summer around June 20 — the typical June gloom usually begins to fade, Sweet said.

“We’re hopeful that a little bit before the end of the month we’ll start to break out of this,” Sweet said. “Believe me, I’m tired of it too.”