Clouds to Make Way for Weekend Maritime Fete

The Homeport San Diego Festival should open under clear skies Saturday morning as cloudy, rainy weather exits in time for a sunny weekend.

“The word for the weekend is Chamber of Commerce weather in San Diego,” National Weather Service meteorologist Wilbur Shigehara said Thursday.

Forecasters said a change in the upper wind flow should disrupt the storms that have been moving in from several directions during the last month. A high-pressure system is expected to divert storms as they approach the coast and send the rainy weather to Canada, Shigehara said.

Warming will begin today and the air will dry, bringing humidity down to 45% to 55% along the coast and to 30% to 40% inland.

Skies should be clear of morning fog and the air a chilly 46 degrees when festival events begin before sunrise Saturday, but temperatures are expected to warm to near 70 degrees by the afternoon.

The nautical parade of Navy, recreational, research and work boats will form off Point Loma at 6:45 a.m. to await the arrival of the Pacific Princess cruise ship. Festivities on B Street Pier begin at 7:30 a.m.

Organized to welcome the cruise ship industry to San Diego and to salute San Diego’s naval and maritime heritage, the festival offers music from Caribbean to country, a seafood fair, cannon salutes, maritime exhibits, ship tours and a 4 p.m. pageant on the water produced by the Old Globe Theatre, between the Broadway and B Street piers.

The event comes to a close with fireworks after dark, as the Pacific Princess “love boat” is escorted to the mouth of the bay on its maiden voyage out of San Diego Harbor at 7 p.m.

Coastal strip temperatures in the 60s are expected through the weekend, with cool nights in the 38-to-48-degree range.

Inland temperatures in the 60s today may reach the 70s by Sunday, and nighttime lows will dip nearly to freezing.