SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — As the four-person crew of the Artemis II gears up to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego Friday night, all eyes will be to the sky as the spacecraft arrives back on Earth.
But, with an impending thunderstorm forecast to move into Southern California this weekend, will the crew be able to complete the splashdown?
What to know about Artemis II crew’s return to Earth, splashdown off San Diego
NASA says there cannot be rain or thunderstorms within 30 nautical miles of the recovery site during the splashdown, wave height cannot exceed six feet and winds need to remain under 25 knots so boats can help recover the crew.
Officials will be keeping a close eye on weather conditions in the days leading up to the splashdown as the forecast could change.
See images of Earth taken by NASA’s Artemis II crew compared to Apollo 17
NASA will be streaming splashdown coverage live on NASA+ and Amazon Prime, and residents in coastal San Diego communities might also hear a sonic boom as the spacecraft enters the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds.
If you live in Southern California, you are no stranger to seeing rockets in the atmosphere as SpaceX regularly launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base, leaving streaks across the sky that excite sky watchers.
The crew aboard the Orion spacecraft are expected to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego at 5:07 p.m. PDT on Friday, April 10.
However, Orion’s reentry might not be visible from land with the naked eye as it will take place in the ocean around 50 to 80 miles off the San Diego coast while the sun will be shining. San Diego’s coastal marine layer, low clouds and fog, also typically thickens in the late afternoon which could also block any views of the spacecraft in the atmosphere.
SpaceX rocket launch seen across San Diego County (PHOTO: Chris Mannerino)
This week in San Diego, temperatures will stay in the low to mid-70s, but rain is in the forecast as we head into the weekend, along with periods of coastal marine layer clouds and fog expected in the mornings and at night.
Artemis II breaks distance record: Astronauts become farthest-traveling humans from Earth
At this time, weather models are forecasting the rain to pick up late Friday night, around 11 p.m., with winds and some thunderstorms expected into Saturday.
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Warm weather continues with highs remaining around 5-10 degrees above normal (National Weather Service)
A cooling trend begins on Thursday though highs will still be a few degrees above normal (National Weather Service)
Map of forecast high temperatures for Southern California for Friday Apr 10, 2026. For the coastal areas: 68 to 75, western valleys and inland Orange County: 73 to 77, inland valleys: 71 to 77, mountains between 4000 ft and 7000 ft: 57 to 67, high desert: 70 to 78, low desert: 85 to 91 (National Weather Service)
The National Weather Service is forecasting an area of low pressure (seen in blue below) that will move into the region Friday into Sunday, leading to chances of rain, gusty winds and cooler conditions.
Weak high pressure (red colors) will continue our dry weather for the first part of the week. An area of low pressure (blue colors) moves into the region by later this week (Fri-Sun), leading to cooler conditions, breezier weather and chances for precipitation (National Weather Service)
Saturday is expected to have the highest chances of precipitation as temperatures fall across the region.
First look at precipitation chances on Saturday. Still a lot of uncertainty on rainfall amounts, with growing confidence that the best chances of rain will be Saturday (National Weather Service)
Mild beginning of the week with chances of wind, rain, and mountain snow over the weekend. Best chance of precipitation is Saturday (National Weather Service)
After the splashdown, coastal San Diego communities like Point Loma, La Jolla and Coronado could get a glimpse of the USS John P. Murtha carrying the astronauts and Orion spacecraft back to shore before they are flown to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The crew is expected to be on the Navy recovery ship within two hours from splashdown.
Watch the Artemis II crew’s historic moon flyby
The Artemis II recovery team, based in San Diego, will be monitoring weather conditions as it gets closer to Friday to determine exactly where the Orion spacecraft will land in the ocean off San Diego.
Keep an eye on the forecast at fox5sandiego.com/weather.
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