Why is Temecula so windy on spring and summer afternoons?
The phenomenon has a lot to do with topography, and also with the desert across the San Jacinto mountains. The heat in the desert causes low pressure, which draws ocean air across some of the inland valleys (air flows from higher to lower pressure). This is most pronounced in the afternoon, and usually ends in the evening. The result are our breezy afternoons, which help moderate the summer heat. Without them, Murrieta’s and Temecula’s climates would be a lot like Lake Elsinore or Hemet. Incidentally, those areas don’t get the ocean breezes, largely because mountains block it. Southwest Riverside County thankfully has a few conduits to the coast, through the Rainbow gap, the Temecula gorge, and across the Santa Rosa plateau.
