Winter storm brings rain to San Diego County, will continue through Monday with snow possible

Feb 05, 2024

A winter storm struck San Diego County on Sunday, bringing gusty winds to the coast and showers to the entire region — and forecasters say to expect more of both through Monday along with some snow.

Rain was expected to fall through Sunday evening and become more scattered overnight, said metereologist Casey Oswant of the National Weather Service’s San Diego office.

A winter storm warning was issued from 6 p.m. Sunday to 10 p.m. Monday for the San Diego County mountains.

“We could start to see snow in the mountains (Monday) morning into the afternoon,” Oswant said.

Schools in Julian, along with those in the Spencer Valley and Warner Unified school districts, will be closed Monday due to the anticipated icy and snowy conditions, the county Office of Education said in a statement Sunday.

County officials said Country Club Drive in Escondido was closed south of Harmony Grove Road due to flooding and will remain closed until the storm passes. Quarry Road in Spring Valley was also closed Sunday from Elkelton Boulevard to state Route 125 due to flooding.

The NWS said snow could fall down to the 3,000 to 3,500 foot elevation Monday morning with Julian expected to see up to 3 inches. Palomar Mountain could see around 7 inches, while nearly a foot of snow was possible at Mount Laguna, Oswant said.

San Diego’s urban areas saw from one-quarter to one-half of an inch of rain fall as of Sunday afternoon. Over the next 24 hours, Oswant said the region can expect another three quarters of an inch of rain at the coast and up to another inch of rain inland.

Precipitation totals are about what was predicted, said meteorologist Stefanie Sullivan, who also works at the NWS in San Diego. She said that while the county’s annual rainfall total is still below average for the year, that could soon change.

“So far, we are slightly below normal for the water year, but we can easily make up for it tonight and tomorrow,” Sullivan said.

The winter storm brought gusty winds to the coast, with gusts of up to 40 mph detected at North Island and 37 mph in La Jolla, Oswant said. A wind advisory remained in effect until 8 a.m. Monday for areas near Borrego Springs in San Diego County, as well as other desert areas like Indio, Palm Spring and Cathedral City. Forecasters said they expected winds blowing from the west to the northwest up to 25 mph, with occasional gusts of 45 mph.

However, a small craft advisory was issued until 4 p.m. Monday for coastal waters from San Mateo Point to the Mexican border and out to 30 nautical miles of waters from San Mateo Point to the Mexican border extending 30 to 60 nautical miles out, including San Clemente Island.

Sullivan said winds with the second wave of the storm won’t be as strong as they were Sunday.

“(Monday) will be a little weaker — especially over the land areas,” she said. “It’ll be pretty breezy over coastal waters but for the most part the winds will be weaker.”

Most temperatures Sunday were in the 50s, with overnight lows in the 40s. The mountains were expected to be in the mid-40s, dropping into the mid-30s overnight, and highs in the deserts were forecast in the mid-60s with lows in the mid-40s.

Tuesday and Wednesday were expected to be dry and cold followed by minor warming Thursday and Friday.

San Diego County issued a general rain advisory for beaches in the county from San Onofre State Beach south to the U.S.-Mexico border. During rain events, bacteria levels in the ocean can rise significantly due to urban runoff so swimmers, surfers and divers are advised to stay out of the water at least 72 hours after it rains, according to the county’s Department of Environmental Health and Quality.

Other parts of California were pummeled by the storm, which triggered flood watches and avalanche warnings on Saturday as heavy snowfall and rain began falling. In Northern California, snow and gusty winds closed mountain highways and shut down some ski resorts. Downpours at lower elevations triggered flood watches Sunday across large swaths of California into Nevada.

The Heavenly ski resort at Lake Tahoe shut down some operations on Saturday when the brunt of the storm hit. The resort posted video of lift chairs swaying violently because of gusts that topped 100 mph.

Some Ventura County mountain areas saw 7 inches of rain since Saturday night and the National Weather Service was predicting travel delays in the mountains near Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported.

City News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Updates

7:04 p.m. Dec. 11, 2022: This story was updated with additional details.

6:10 p.m. Dec. 11, 2022: This story was updated with information that snow levels could drop to 3,000 to 3,500 foot elevations.

5:41 p.m. Dec. 11, 2022: This story was updated with information on school closures and more comments from a National Weather Service meteorologist.