You hate it. I hate it. We all hate it. It’s ——- hot!
But are we being pampered Southern Californians brats who can’t handle a real summer?
No, says science!
Daniel Swain, the UCLA climate researcher behind the always-fascinating weather blog Weather West, has written a thorough (as in: charts, graphs, indecipherable scientific terms) breakdown of why this has been the worst summer ever.
Any way you measure it, this summer stands out: “The numbers bear out the miserable anecdotal experience folks have reported. Summer 2026 was genuinely the most humid on record in coastal SoCal,” Swain writes.
Swain explains what’s causing it all. Basically, a surge of extremely warm ocean temperatures from south of the equator is combining with tropical moisture from a hurricane off the coast of Mexico to produce Florida-like air in normally arid San Diego.
And those warm ocean temps are preventing the region’s natural overnight cooling system from working.
In other words, the science says it’s okay to complain. Unfortunately, it may not yet be time for the complaining to stop.
Swain leave his readers on a terrifying note: “Additional tropically-tinged weather events quite possible rest of Sept. and Oct. in CA; details TBD.”
More dog days: Wednesday’s Padres game at Petco Park started with the hottest temperature ever for a game at the stadium: 95 degrees. It was Bark at the Park Day, where fans could bring their dog. We’re guessing many thought twice about that. But those pups missed a nice Padres win. The U-T reported that 14 San Diego communities reached temperatures hotter than 100 degrees.
Blakespear to Encinitas: Hands Off the Bike Lanes
Encinitas leaders love to fight the state over housing mandates. Now, add another thing to their Sacramento beef list: bike lanes.
In June, the Encinitas City Council voted to spend more than $3.5 million to rip out bike lanes along Santa Fe Avenue that the city just one year ago spent $4.1 million to install. (This included other improvements as part of a major street redesign.)
As Streetsblog SD explains, current city leaders hate the bike lanes because they say they make the street too narrow and slow emergency vehicles.
So why did they install them in the first place? Because former Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear wanted them, and secured a $3 million state grant to redesign the street.
Now Blakespear, who has moved on to the State Assembly, and current Mayor Bruce Ehlers are engaged in a bureaucratic battle royale over the lanes. Blakespear tried to block Ehlers from ripping them out. Then it seemed he’d outmaneuvered her.
Now Blakespear and her allies have struck again. Language inserted into a budget bill would ban removing the lanes until at least 2030.
The City Council on Wednesday evening was set to consider urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to strip out the bike lane removal prohibition.
Meanwhile in Oceanside: One civic-minded Instagram account poked fun at the army of online bike lane haters. The post showed video of an empty street — and then demanded that since no cars were on the road city leaders should rip them out.
North County Report: Poway Mayor’s Race Heating Up
Speaking of battles over development, our Tigist Layne reports divisions over housing are shaping up to be a major factor in Poway’s upcoming mayoral and City Council election.
That’s especially true in the mayor’s race, which pits incumbent Steve Vaus against two challengers.
Vaus vaunts his years of experience (12 as mayor, two on the City Council) and Poway’s low crime and taxes.
His Republican challenger Jenny Maeda, a current city councilmember, say he’s too lenient with developers and keeps greenlighting projects out of step with the city’s character.
Vaus’ other challenger Dellena Olps, a Democrat, is married to a man who tried to get Vaus recalled a few years ago. Some say Olps is too inexperienced, while others say she’s the fresh start the city needs.
Read the North County Report Here.
In Other News
- The civilian board overseeing the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office voted 7-2 not to revisit the 2023 case of a homeless man who was beaten, paralyzed and later died after deputies confronted him over an expired registration on his van. Advocates for the man had asked the board to re-investigate the incident. The board did not give a reason for its vote. (Union-Tribune)
- Oceanside City Councilmember Rick Robinson returned $1,000 in campaign donations from two donors after an election opponent filed a public records request that showed Robinson voted to approve a permit to grow cannabis on the donors’ property months after accepting donations from them. (inewsource)
- Federal prosecutors this week admitted they erred in not sharing details about an immigrant detainee’s criminal history with a San Diego U.S. District Court judge before the judge decided to release the immigrant from custody. Trump administration officials lambasted the judge even though it was their own prosecutors’ error that led to the immigrant’s release. (Union-Tribune)
- Federal officials recently promised Imperial Valley residents the federal government plans to intensify efforts to clean up the valley’s New River, which, like the Tijuana River in San Diego, suffers from severe cross-border pollution. (KPBS)
The Morning Report was written by Jim HInch. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.
