Unaffectionately known as May gray and June gloom, the marine layer annually descending like a curtain along San Diego’s coast this time of year has been more intense and is lasting longer than usual in 2023, the National Weather Service confirmed.

“We’ve had more cloudy days and had less solar radiation than most Mays,” said meteorologist Brandt Maxwell of the NWS. “Clouds are common in May and June, but this May and June have been more cloudy because we’ve had a lot of low pressure aloft along the coast associated with more onshore flow going from the ocean to the land. It (low pressure) assists in the marine layer remaining. And the cloud thickness this year has been greater too. The thicker the clouds – the longer it takes for them to burn off.”

The average May cloud cover during the day this year in San Diego was a gray 82.5%. The stretch from May 12-31 featured 18 days considered overcast, with two other days barely getting enough sunshine to register as partly sunny amid 70% cloud cover. Long-term weather records show San Diego’s overall average cloud cover in May is 63.9%.

The high temperature at San Diego’s airport also only reached 70 degrees twice last month, and its overall average high of 66.5 degrees was tied for the fifth coolest on record.

Maxwell noted that May/June are the two most prominent months for an extensive marine layer. He added, “April we will have some, as well as July, but that is a little more restricted to near the coast. The rest of the year it comes and goes, maybe with a second peak in the fall around October.”

Added Maxwell: “Most commonly, during spring and early summer is when there is a temperature inversion, usually between 1,000 and 3,000 feet above sea level, with warmer air above cooler air. That makes for a very different kind of mixing between those two air masses, trapping the moisture below the inversion. And there is no easy way to get rid of it.”

San Diego Community Newspaper Group asked readers if they felt May gray and June gloom was worse this year, and if it has affected their moods. Here is what they said:

“I think it’s fabulous,” said Carolyn Chase of PB. “Longer isn’t necessarily worse. I was dreading the increasingly earlier-rising to 80 degrees and above. I love living near the Pacific Ocean and its fabulous fog. And I have to point out it does get sunny in the afternoon, usually around 2-3 p.m. People do like to complain about the weather, regardless.”

“It really reminds me of the ‘lost summer’ from 5-7 years ago,” said James P. Rudolph of La Jolla. “The marine layer was thick and stubbornly resistant to any dissipation.”

Rudolph even had a term to describe how overcast weather affects people’s moods, referring to it as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). “But it’s really not that severe here,” he said. “We truly are blessed. Yes, the layer has been around for a couple of months. But my mood has not been affected by it. Neither has business at my family’s restaurant (Harry’s Coffee Shop) been impacted.”

Diane Kane of La Jolla disagreed that the cloud cover hasn’t affected people’s moods. “The foggy conditions seem worse this year,” she said. “Not only does the fog linger all day, but it also is quite thick and often precipitates heavy dew or light rain. My wisteria bloomed a month later than usual and a few roses are reluctant to push out foliage, much less blossom. I’m still wearing winter clothing.”

Brian Earley of La Jolla concurred with Kane. “It certainly has an effect on the coastal beaches and the number of people who might spend the day there,” he said. “When it is very May gray and June gloom and the weather professionals say that the coast will have clouds, it cuts down the number of people at the beaches seemingly in half.”

Landscape architect Jim Neri, whose office is in PB, had a suggestion for renaming these two heavily cloudy months. “We might consider renaming these months Grapril, Gray, and Gloom,” he said. “Definitely a downer mood-wise, especially when it veils after being clear for an hour.”

Ann Dynes of La Jolla also mentioned the new weather vocabulary. “This year, we also had Graypril and that has made this spring seem drearier than any I can recall,” she said. “Anyway, my message would be that, although this was worse due to Graypril, this happens every few years and locals know that next spring is always going to be fine again.

“My south-facing windows overlook the horizon, and ‘dawn’ always woke me with sunshine – until this year,” lamented Phyllis Minick of La Jolla. “Without exception, every morning has been so gray that it’s hard to know when night has passed and a new morning has arrived.”

Speaking for many, Walter Andersen, who owns a Midway nursery said: “We are pretty much ‘gloomed out.’ Let’s hope July and August aren’t scorching months to make up for all of the cool weather we’ve had this year. For our business, we welcome the overcast, kind of encourage people to get out in their yards and ‘dress things up’ and maybe plant some new things to brighten up their yards. For the businesses at the beaches, it probably discourages some activities.”