best time to visit? (San Diego, Santa Ana: humidity, water, east coast)

[serpent_of_old]

which months have the most pleasant weather?
now i know that may sound silly, but i am trying to avoid anything that would be the extremes for there...rain/excessive heat

[sav858]

The coast is nice year round for the most part. May and June can be overcast along the coast, aka "May Gray and June Gloom". My favorite time of year is summer from July through September, upper 70's along the coast, 60's at night and the water is warm enough to swim in. It can get hot inland though this time of year.

Fall is also really nice weatherwise although that is when we get heatwaves brought on by Santa Ana winds but they usually don't last too long. Usually its very sunny and in the 70's on the coast.

Winter is nice and the sunny usually, that is our rainy season but it doesn't rain for more than 2 days in a row often and "storms" here are pretty weak. Temps usually are in the 60's with spells of warmer weather periodically into the 70's and sometimes 80's.

Spring is my least favorite "season" in SD. It's the cloudiest time of year and not much warmer than winter really except at night.

[kettlepot]

My favorite time of the year is May and June when the weather is cloudy and gray. I absolutely love it then.

But for a tourist who wants pleasantly warm, sunny weather, I would say late September through early November, plus April are your better bets.

January through March can be hit and miss when it comes to sunny and warm.

And November and December are disappointing in my book because of the rapidly shortening days, but that just might be a problem for locals, since it's a universal issue that will be affecting where you are coming from.

Personally I loathe mid-July through mid-September because of the heat, the higher levels of humidity, and my lack of A/C.

[loveautumn]

I'd say July through mid October

[serpent_of_old]

what % would be considered higher levels of humidity for there?

[sav858]

Originally Posted by serpent_of_old

what % would be considered higher levels of humidity for there?

The most highest dewpoints are usually in the mid 60's, rarely will it go higher than that. Usually they are in the low 60's during summer. It's "humid" to people out west used to drier conditions but to those used to the humidity found in the midwest and east coast it's not really that humid; it's all relative.

[Encinitan]

I'd say for a visit, about the only time of year to absolutely avoid is May-June because it can be cloudy and cool along the beach, and that's a shock to some who think SD is supposed to be like Hawaii or Miami where it's always 85 and sunny. We do have seasons here, albeit less severe than most of the rest of the country.
I think a great time to visit is December-January. It's definitely hit and miss and it could be rainy and cold, but it could also be sunny, breezy, and 75. There's nothing like leaving 32 degrees and snow and landing in San Diego in winter.