Updated at 5: 30 9.m., Nov. 21, 2014
A cool autumn storm brought some much-needed rainfall to the arid San Diego area Friday.
The precipitation totals from the bands of wet clouds, which were largely breaking up and moving off to the southeast as of early afternoon, ranged from a few hundredths of an inch in some coastal and valley areas to nearly 1.3 inches in the East County highlands, according to the National Weather Service.
The showers also ushered in some typical rainy-day commuter headaches. Between midnight and 8 a.m., the California Highway Patrol logged 82 crashes, none of which caused any reported major injuries. By comparison, the agency generally responds to 50-75 over an entire 24-hour period of fair weather.
By late morning, according to the NWS, the storm had dropped 1.28 inches of precipitation at Lake Cuyamaca; 0.6 in Carlsbad; 0.55 in Vista; 0.49 in Descanso; 0.41 in Encinitas; 0.4 in Escondido and Julian; 0.36 in San Marcos; 0.29 in Agua Caliente; 0.26 in Santee; 0.25 in Alpine and Rancho Bernardo; 0.23 in Vista; 0.21 in Oceanside; 0.15 in Valley Center; 0.13 in La Mesa; 0.08 in Fallbrook; and 0.04 at Lindbergh Field in San Diego.
A warming trend and Santa Ana winds are expected to return to the region this weekend and linger at least through Thanksgiving, according to the weather service.
Since July 1, a total of 0.44 of an inch of rain has been recorded at San Diego International Airport, putting the city at 32 percent of the amount considered “normal” for the period, the NWS reported. California has been experiencing drought conditions since about mid-2011.
— City News Service
