A cool, damp Thursday will make way for a warmer Labor Day weekend, forecasters say

A tropical storm off the Baja California coast will bring rain Thursday to parts of San Diego County, before the region dries out and warms up over the long Labor Day weekend, the National Weather Service says.

It’s a mix that could make for pleasant weekend travel weather for thousands of San Diegans — and crucially reduce the risk of wildfires, at least for now.

By Wednesday, high clouds from Tropical Storm Juliette were moving into the county and expected to thicken overnight, making for a cloudier, cooler Thursday and light showers across the region.

Forecast highs are just 80 degrees in San Diego, 84 in Escondido and 83 in El Cajon and Oceanside. Up to a quarter of an inch could fall at lower elevations and half an inch in the mountains, said meteorologist Kyle Wheeler.

“There could be some enhancement of precipitation along the coastal mountain slopes, sort of like what we see with wintertime precipitation,” he added.

Wherever rain falls, it will be a notable benefit for a parched region during fire season.

“That will sort of impede any fire development in the near term,” said Wheeler. But because high rain totals aren’t expected, “it’s not anything that’s going to have much effect later, like in late fall. Something’s always better than nothing, though.”

There will be a slight chance of thunder, but only a rumble here and there — nothing like what lit up county skies earlier in the week.

“Tropical systems don’t tend to carry much instability relative to the amount of moisture. We are looking more at a rain event,” Wheeler added.

The damp won’t last, and the holiday weekend will feel more properly summery.

By Thursday night, the skies are expected to clear, and the region should dry out and warm up Friday as high pressure over northern Mexico expands, according to the NWS. Temperatures that could reach only into the 80s and 90s in the deserts Thursday are forecast to soar as high as 110 over the weekend.

But another kind of rain could be in the forecast again next week.

“By Friday the tropical showers will have moved out, and we’ll be back to the monsoon thunderstorm potential early next week,” Wheeler said.

That could bring higher chances of showers in the mountains and deserts by mid-week, with clear skies and average temperatures elsewhere in San Diego County.