Local temperature forecast performance

How accurate are temperature forecasts in San Diego, California?

Nighttime lows were less predictable than daytime highs in San Diego's next-day record. Lows missed by 2.9°F on average, compared with 2.4°F for highs.

See the current San Diego forecast

Opens ZIP 92101 using the nearest current station, which may differ from the archive station below.

What stands out

San Diego forecast findings

At a glance

Forecast day 1 accuracy

Highs Lows

Lower error than the national average

San Diego: 3.0°F typical miss National archive average: 3.5°F

Combined high and low results across forecast days 1, 3, 5, and 7.
High temperaturesForecast day 1
2.4°Ftypical miss

76% came within 3°F

Usually coolerUsually warmerLittle warm or cool tendency
Low temperaturesForecast day 1
2.9°Ftypical miss

64% came within 3°F

Usually coolerUsually warmer0.6°F cooler than observed

Error generally grows farther into the forecast

The dots show the typical miss on each forecast day.

San Diego temperature forecast error by forecast dayTypical miss by forecast day. day 1: high 2.4°F, low 2.9°F; day 3: high 2.8°F, low 3.1°F; day 5: high 3.0°F, low 3.2°F; day 7: high 3.1°F, low 3.1°F. typical miss ≤3°F 0°2°4°6°8°2.4°F2.9°FDay 12.8°F3.1°FDay 33.0°F3.2°FDay 53.1°F3.1°FDay 7
See within-3°F percentages and window timing
Day 1High: 76%Low: 64%
Day 3High: 68%Low: 63%
Day 5High: 66%Low: 62%
Day 7High: 62%Low: 63%

High and low windows represent the same numbered forecast day, but the high window ends 12 hours later and therefore has 12 more hours of lead time.

How forecasts change through the year

Each tile is forecast day 1’s typical miss.

Under 2°F2–3°F3–5°FOver 5°FNot enough data

High temperatures

Jan2.8°62 cases
Feb2.3°55 cases
Mar3.4°59 cases
Apr1.9°60 cases
May1.7°54 cases
Jun2.0°60 cases
Jul1.5°59 cases
Aug2.4°55 cases
Sep2.0°59 cases
Oct2.7°60 cases
Nov3.2°54 cases
Dec2.7°57 cases

Low temperatures

Jan4.2°62 cases
Feb3.6°55 cases
Mar3.1°59 cases
Apr3.1°60 cases
May3.7°55 cases
Jun1.5°60 cases
Jul1.5°58 cases
Aug1.9°56 cases
Sep1.7°59 cases
Oct3.2°58 cases
Nov3.1°54 cases
Dec4.0°57 cases
Data locationSAN DIEGO/LINDBERG (SAN)1.8 miles from central San Diego · Archive 2024-08-01–2026-07-28

Based on archived raw NBM forecasts compared with observed daily highs and lows near San Diego. Results describe this model archive, not every forecast provider.

How these numbers are calculated

The forecasts are raw NBM median temperature guidance initialized at 12Z. Results include multiple NBM model eras and are retrospective, so they describe this archive rather than guaranteeing future performance.

“Typical miss” is mean absolute error: the average size of the error regardless of direction. Warmer or cooler tendency is signed bias, which can be small even when individual errors are larger.

Read the complete calibration and verification methodology.