Updated at 1:25 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 9
Rain flooded numerous streets and wind knocked out power to some 4,000 San Diego-area homes and business Tuesday as the first winter storm of the season drenched the county.
The blustery, wet conditions — the first dose of significant local precipitation in months — brought much-needed moisture to the parched region while snarling morning rush-hour traffic, prompting SeaWorld San Diego to close for the day and generating flooding and mudslides on roadways from the coast to the eastern highlands.
By shortly before daybreak, Oceanside had already received 2.41 inches of rain, Carlsbad 1.7 inches, Vista 1.56 inches and Lindbergh Field 1.19 inches, according to the National Weather Service. The total in Oceanside already outpaced the 2-inch maximum prediction for San Diego’s coastal areas, and the rain was expected to continue throughout the day.
As of late morning, the dark clouds had dropped 3.7 inches of moisture at Palomar Observatory; 2.68 in Oak Grove; 2.61 in Oceanside; 2.3 at Henshaw Dam; 2.19 at Lake Cuyamaca; 2.16 in Fallbrook; 2.13 in Carlsbad and Ramona; 1.93 in Valley Center; 1.9 in Vista; 1.7 in Poway; 1.6 in Kearny Mesa; 1.45 in La Jolla; 1.22 in Mission Beach; 1.18 in Lakeside; 1.1 in El Cajon; 1.02 in Del Mar; 0.99 in San Ysidro; 0.96 in Point Loma; 0.89 in Solana Beach; and 0.7 in Chula Vista.
The downpours prompted SeaWorld to shut down as a safety precaution for the first time in nearly a year, park spokesman David Koontz said. The popular tourist destination, which last closed due to heavy rain last Feb. 27, was slated to reopen Wednesday, he said.
Meanwhile, nearly 2,400 San Diego Gas & Electric customers found themselves without power Tuesday morning in the coastal North County, the utility reported. SDG&E workers were assessing what caused the outage, which was affecting neighborhoods in Cardiff-By-The-Sea, Carlsbad. Encinitas, La Costa and Olivenhain.
Another 530 customers were without electrical service from three separate weather-related outages in San Diego and Chula Vista, and another four blackouts cut off power to about 1,000 addresses along the coast in La Jolla, just south of Escondido and in the Viejas area.
By shortly before noon, only 208 addresses remained out of service, with 81 of those lapses confirmed as related to weather, SDG&E reported.
Over the morning, the California Highway Patrol logged dozens of rain-related crashes across the county. No serious injuries related to the wrecks were reported.
Flooding and debris flows also forced closures of various roads over the morning, including the 12000 block of Lemon Crest Drive in the Winter Gardens area; Mapleview Street at Pino Drive in Lakeside; Mussey Grade Road at Mahogany Ranch Road in Ramona; stretches of Bent Avenue and Via Vera Cruz in San Marcos; and traffic lanes along the San Diego River near Fashion Valley mall.
Snow levels were expected to remain above 8,000 feet throughout much of Southern California — higher than the San Diego area’s tallest peaks — but were expected to drop rapidly to 5,000 feet by Tuesday afternoon, making influxes of frozen white flakes possible in some local mountain spots, meteorologists said.
A winter storm warning that went into effect in parts of Southern California was not expected to effect the San Diego area, though the county’s mountains and deserts were expected to receive very strong winds.
A high-wind warning that went into effect at 6 a.m. was set to expire at 10 p.m. for Julian, Pine Valley and Borrego Springs. Wind gusts from 55 to 75 mph will be possible along desert slopes and below mountain passes, according to the weather service. The gusts could adversely impact travelers in San Diego County along Interstates 8 and 15, as well as Old Highway 395, authorities said.
The weather service issued a wind advisory Tuesday morning for San Diego, Vista, National City, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Chula Vista, Escondido, El Cajon, San Marcos, La Mesa, Santee and Poway.
Officials with the city of San Diego urged the public to refrain from calling 911 for downed tree limbs and flooding unless the conditions constituted an emergency. Such non-pressing problems should be reported to the city’s emergency dispatch center at (619) 527-7500.
Rain was expected to continue through the afternoon and overnight before weakening and petering out Wednesday morning, according to forecasters.
— City News Service
