Chilly weather and frost will again grip in parts of San Diego County Thursday morning and are expected again as 2016 gets underway.
A National Weather Service frost advisory for the deserts is scheduled to expire at 8 a.m. Thursday. Early morning temperatures were forecast to be 27 to 35 degrees.
Forecasters urged residents to cover sensitive outdoor vegetation and bring pets indoors. Farm animals should be placed in barns.
"Cold conditions are expected overnight with clear skies and calm winds," according to the weather service. "Areas of frost will develop in portions of the Inland Empire and lower deserts where temperatures drop to near freezing."
Clear and dry conditions are expected Thursday night as revelers ring in the new year. But areas of patchy frost are in the forecast again Thursday night into Friday morning for the deserts.
"Midnight conditions will be somewhat warmer west of the mountains courtesy of weak offshore winds, with temps in the 40s and low 50s for most areas," according to the weather service. "The mountains and upper deserts, however, will remain quite cold in the 20s and 30s as they ring in the new year."
Forecasters said high temperatures Friday through Sunday would be near or slightly below the average for this time of year.
Highs Friday through Saturday are forecast to be in the 60s along the coast, in the western valleys and in the deserts, in the mid-50s to lower 60s near the foothills, in the upper 40s to mid-50s in the mountains.
However, the nights will still be chilly. Lows in the mid-30s to mid-40s are forecast for the coast, valleys and deserts, but in the upper 20s to mid- 30s in the mountains. Somewhat warmer temperatures are expected Sunday night.
A series of storm systems is expected to bring a chance of rain to the valleys and snow to the mountains late Sunday through the middle of next week, according to the weather service.
