Thursday, February 8, 2024
Forecasters say about a half-inch of rain will fall at the coast by the breakfast hour and roughly an inch across inland foothills. The mountains are expected to get heavy snow.
Rivers and flood channels will be flowing hard across San Diego County early Thursday as a new Pacific storm brings a fifth day of rain to a soaked and soggy region eager for it all to end.
An overnight storm was expected to drop about a half-inch of rain near the coast by the breakfast hour and roughly an inch across inland foothills and valleys, the National Weather Service said.
The system, which could spark pre-dawn lightning, will then produce intermittent showers that will double those totals by Friday night.
The storm also will drop about 3 inches of snow on the Julian area by noon Thursday and about 1 foot in the upper reaches of Palomar Mountain and Mount Laguna.
The California Highway Patrol is requiring chains for drivers east of Warner Springs near Montezuma Valley Road and San Felipe Road.
“We won’t have a blue sky day until Sunday,” said John Suk, meteorologist in charge of the weather service office in San Diego.
The county was hit hard late Tuesday night and Wednesday by an earlier and more powerful Pacific storm.
That system produced a brief and wild downpour of hail around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday in Otay Ranch and nearby areas.
The Marines were investigating whether rough weather contributed to the crash of a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter late Tuesday night in a mountainous area near Pine Valley in eastern San Diego County.
The fate of the five crew members aboard was still unclear Wednesday afternoon.
In perhaps the most memorable development of the storm, earlier Tuesday a tornado alert was issued in parts of South County and East County, startling many people in an area where such a threat is rare.
Through 3 p.m. Wednesday, San Diego International Airport had recorded 8 inches of precipitation since the rainy season began on Oct. 1.
Forecasters said the city could reach its yearlong average of 9.79 inches by Friday night.
What forecasters dub the rainy season also known as the water year begins on Oct. 1 each year and ends on Sept. 30 of the following year.
This time frame was created long ago by the federal government to make sure that total precipitation for a one-year period captures winter snowfall as well as summer rain, which is more common in other areas of the country.
The series of storms that have plummeted the region since Jan. 22 have claimed another victim: A man was found dead in Forester Creek in Santee on Tuesday.
The Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Wednesday that his death was storm-related. His name was not released, and it was not clear when he died.
He is the third person known to have died in the rains over the last two weeks. A 67-year-old man died in a vehicle crash last month, and a 61-year-old West African man drowned Tuesday in the Tijuana River while trying to enter the United States.
Two other deaths are suspected to be storm-related.
Both victims were found in Santee following the explosive Jan. 22 storm: a still-unidentified woman found in Forester Creek, and a 48-year-old man whose precise location authorities have not disclosed.
Also on Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom asked President Joe Biden to declare a major disaster from last month’s destructive flooding. That would grant the region access to federal aid to help people recover.
According to the request, more than 800 homes were damaged in the Jan. 22 storm. Many are in underserved communities where flood insurance coverage is low.
County officials have said separately that the flooding cost the region more than $100 million alone in emergency response expenses and damage to public infrastructure.
Wednesday’s weather produced starkly different effects across the county.
The approach of a snow storm led to the declaration of a snow day Wednesday in Julian Union Elementary School District, Julian Union High School District, Mountain Empire Unified School District, Spencer Valley School District and Warner Unified School District. The Julian and Warner districts also planned for schools to start late Thursday.
By the time the snow days were announced, enormous amounts of snow had fallen farther away, in Southern Californian mountains associated with skiing.
The scene was far different at Dog Beach in Del Mar, where a break in the clouds led volleyball players to take to the nets as waves rising to 7 feet crashed ashore.
Tags: bad weather, san diego, storm
Saturday, April 27, 2024
