Sunny, warmer, dry weather on tap for region this week

The rain and overcast skies have moved on — at least for now.

Warm, dry and mostly clear weather is likely to continue in the county this week, accompanied by moderate to locally strong Santa Ana winds along the coastal mountain slopes, foothills, and into the valleys through Monday.

“Periods of weaker Santa Ana winds will continue through the remainder of the week,” the National Weather Service’s San Diego bureau said on Sunday. “A warming trend continues, with temperatures peaking around the middle of the week.”

Wednesday and Thursday will likely be the warmest days, the NWS added.

Peak wind gusts reached 60 to 70 mph in the foothills early Sunday morning. Gusts were generally in the 30-45 mph range in the breezier valleys, with gusts of 15-30 mph as far as the coast.

Winds will still be moderate to locally strong through Monday afternoon.

The warm, dry air mass will remain in place along with the offshore winds, and each afternoon will be slightly warmer through Thursday.