SAN DIEGO, Oct. 10, 2026 — San Diego County is under a tropical storm watch as Tropical Storm Rachel heads for the coast near the U.S.-Mexico border on Saturday night. San Diego International Airport (SAN) has not announced any schedule changes, but Sunday flying is at risk.
What is happening
- The storm: at 5 a.m. PDT Saturday the National Hurricane Center put Rachel about 595 miles south-southwest of San Diego with 60 mph winds, moving east-northeast at 21 mph.
- Timing: the center is expected to come ashore near the border on Saturday night, then weaken quickly over Baja California and the Southwest on Sunday.
- Watch area: the Southern California coast from the border north to the San Diego/Orange County line. Tropical storm conditions are possible there from Saturday night or early Sunday.
- Across the border: a tropical storm warning covers the west coast of Baja California north to the border, the stretch that includes Tijuana.
- Local forecast: NBC San Diego reported rain could start Saturday night and become widespread on Sunday morning into early afternoon, with about an inch possible and coastal gusts up to 30 mph. Showers may last through Tuesday.
- Airport and airlines: SAN’s website carried no storm alert when we checked on Saturday. American’s and Alaska’s alert pages listed no San Diego waiver. Flight cancellations and waivers: TBA.
- Already busy: on Friday evening the FAA was running a ground delay program at SAN for airport volume, with delays averaging 55 minutes.
What it means for non-revs
- Fly Saturday if you can. The weather risk at SAN starts Saturday night and peaks on Sunday morning.
- Expect Sunday delays even without cancellations. Rain and gusty winds cut arrival rates, and the FAA then meters inbound flights.
- Delays hit standby twice. Late inbound aircraft cause misconnects, and those revenue passengers take the open seats on later flights.
- Have an alternate in mind, such as Orange County (SNA) or Los Angeles (LAX), which are outside the watch area. The Weather Channel expects gusty winds and heavy rain there on Sunday as well, so check status first.
- Using Tijuana (TIJ): the Mexican side is under a warning, the stronger alert. Confirm your flight before crossing.
- No waivers yet. If airlines post them, revenue rebooking will tighten loads into Monday and Tuesday.
Sources
- National Hurricane Center, “Tropical Storm Rachel Intermediate Advisory Number 53A”: nhc.noaa.gov
- NBC San Diego, “Tropical Storm Rachel churns in Pacific. Here are its possible impacts to San Diego, Baja California”: nbcsandiego.com
- The Weather Channel, “Rachel: 1st S. California tropical storm watch since 2023”: weather.com
- FAA, “National Airspace System Status” airport status feed: nasstatus.faa.gov
- San Diego International Airport, website: san.org
- American Airlines, “Travel alerts”: aa.com
- Alaska Airlines, “Travel Advisories”: alaskaair.com
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