A late winter storm that drew extra energy from the subtropics hit most of San Diego County before dawn Thursday, snarling freeways, causing urban street flooding and generating winds that gusted 38 mph to 43 mph in coastal cities, the National Weather Service said.
Forecasters also said that a waterspout came to life offshore but diminished fairly quickly, turning into strong gusts of wind and rain about 5 a.m. when it reached Point Loma. Thunderstorm activity is possible through late afternoon.
The heaviest bands of rain have cleared to the east. But forecasters said rain will continue to fall, on and off, through most of Thursday. And significant snow is falling as low as 4,500 feet in the mountains and could drop to the 3,500-foot level late in the day. Snowfall totals could reach 6 inches to 1 foot above 5,000 feet in the local mountains by late Thursday night.
The storm’s cold air also is producing icy road conditions on Interstate 8, east of Alpine. And stiff winds are making driving in the region a challenge, forecasters said.
Through 7 a.m., many communities in North County had received 0.50 inches to 0.75 inches of precipitation. Spots in and around San Diego recorded 0.50 inches to 1 inch. So did El Cajon, Escondido and Ramona.
A flood watch will be in effect until 6 p.m. Thursday. The storm won’t fully exit the county until Friday afternoon.
Weather conditions prompted officials with the Spencer Valley School District in Santa Ysabel to cut short the school day on Thursday. Due to “inclement weather and hazardous road conditions” the district’s 3,800 students would be released from classes at noon, according to the San Diego County Office of Education.
Shortly after 11:10 a.m., personnel from San Diego Fire-Rescue responded to a report of a person in the water in the Tijuana River Valley. Firefighters, a river-rescue team and a helicopter were all dispatched to Dairy Mart Road and Monument Road and conducted a search but no body was found and the crews were released, a department spokesperson said.
California Highway Patrol officers were busy responding to “just a ton of crashes” during the morning commute as heavy rain fell and roadways flooded around the region, said CHP Officer Jim Bettencourt.
In the North County, Caltrans closed the far right lane of eastbound state Route 78 around 8:30 a.m. because of flooding, and crews were trying to determine if the whole freeway needed to be shut down because of standing water in the lanes, Bettencourt said.
The on-ramp to eastbound SR-78 at El Camino Real in Oceanside was also closed due to flooding.
Similar problems were reported in south San Diego, with lanes reportedly underwater in both directions of Interstate 805 near Main Street. Crews worked to clear blocked drains in the area.
Drivers also were finding flooding along Pacific Highway under northbound I-5, near the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, which Bettencourt said was a “usual spot” for water to accumulate in heavy storms.
The rain’s impact on traffic was noticeable at the interchange of Interstate 8 and Interstate 15, forecasters said. They also pointed to the runoff in San Diego.
“The San Diego River at Fashion Valley will reach monitor stage at 7.5 (feet) by noon on Thursday, peaking that afternoon and evening around 8.5 (feet),” the weather service said in a statement.
A winter storm watch will be in effect east of Interstate 15 starting before dawn Thursday and might last into Friday.
A third, weaker storm will likely arrive late Sunday night or early Monday. Collectively, the two storms that have hit the county this week and the third one could deliver more than 2 inches of precipitation at the coast and twice as much east of Interstate 15.
Sample of wind gusts through 5:13 a.m.
Palomar Mountain State Park: 60 mph
Mount Laguna: 47 mph
Mount Woodson: 46 mph
Camp Pendleton: 43 mph
North Island: 38 mph
Oceanside Airport: 36 mph
Miramar MCAS: 32 mph
Imperial Beach: 32 mph
San Diego International Airport: 30 mph
