Less than two weeks after a historically severe winter storm led to disastrous local flooding and government state-of-emergency declarations, another significant spell of rainy and blustery conditions is bearing down this week on the San Diego area.
A widespread cooling trend on Wednesday will usher in the wet, windy and snowy atmospheric system, which is expected to arrive Thursday and linger through Friday night or Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
The storm will deliver more heavy showers, forecasters advised, with totals ranging from 1.5 to 2 inches in coastal and inland-valley locales; up to 3 inches on coastal mountain slopes; and 0.5 to 0.75 in the deserts. Rainfall rates of a half-inch to nearly an inch per hour will be possible.
The likelihood of more seriously inclement weather over the period prompted the NWS to issue a countywide flood watch for Thursday through Friday morning. Additionally, in coastal communities, the federal agency slated a high- surf advisory from 2 a.m. Thursday through 6 a.m. Saturday and scheduled a high- wind watch for the morning and afternoon hours Thursday.
Following a brief respite of mostly dry conditions over the weekend, additional rounds of widespread precipitation are expected to begin in the region early next week, according to meteorologists.
The added waves of wet wintry weather will arrive as the San Diego area struggles to recover from a storm that moved over the county Jan. 20 and generated three days of intense rainfall that wreaked heavy flooding damage in many areas.
Last week, the city and county of San Diego, along with Gov. Gavin Newsom, declared states of emergency due to the disastrously heavy precipitation, which destroyed hundreds of homes. Much of the most acute destruction occurred in southeastern San Diego, notably the communities of Encanto, Logan Heights, Mountain View and Southcrest.
The wettest day during the storm, Jan. 22, was the fourth-wettest in San Diego since 1850, according to the weather service.