The San Diego area’s unusually wet and frigid winter continued for a second day Thursday, but sunny skies are finally expected on Friday.
Due to the freezing-cold conditions gripping the East County highlands, the county Office of Education closed campuses for the day in Julian Union School District, Julian Union High School District, Mountain Empire Unified School District, Spencer Valley School District and Warner Springs School District.
The south-moving storm was expected to continue soaking and freezing the county through late Thursday evening, then taper off.
By late afternoon, the two-day spate of showers had delivered moisture totals of up to several inches in some areas along with more than a foot of snow on some local peaks, according to the National Weather Service.
As of 3 p.m., the 48-hour rain tallies included 2.05 inches in Descanso; 1.92 in Mesa Grande; 1.68 at Henshaw Dam; 1.51 in Echo Dell; 1.42 in Pine Hills; 1.32 in Alpine; 1.15 in Skyline Ranch; 1.09 in Harbison Canyon and on Mount Woodson; 1.03 in San Diego Country Estates; 0.95 in Barona and Granite Hills; 0.93 in Poway; 0.9 in Rancho Bernardo; 0.87 in Flinn Springs; 0.83 in El Cajon; 0.82 in Ramona; 0.79 in Valley Center; 0.68 in Santee; 0.58 in Lakeside; 0.55 in La Mesa and San Ysidro; 0.49 in Deer Springs; 0.47 in Kearny Mesa; 0.44 in San Felipe; 0.41 in Agua Caliente; 0.35 in Chula Vista; 0.29 in La Jolla; 0.26 in Mission Valley; 0.23 in Oceanside; 0.22 in Encinitas; 0.21 in Solana Beach; 0.17 at Lindbergh Field; 0.14 in Borrego Springs; 0.12 in Carlsbad; 0.1 in Del Mar; and 0.09 in University Heights.
Among local snowfall accumulations over the period were 13 inches on Mount Laguna; 10 on Palomar Mountain; 9 in Julian; 4 in Oak Glen and Pine Valley; 1.5 in Boulevard and Wynola; and 0.5 in Descanso.
Overnight Thursday the snow levels may drop as low as the 2,000-foot level, the weather service advised.
The precipitation was expected to dwindle away overnight. Thereafter, dry skies and warming temperatures should prevail through the middle of next week, with another local storm possibly arriving at the beginning of March, the weather service reported.
Updated at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019
–City News Service
