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Scattered Showers, Flash Flood Watch in San Diego Forecast for Thursday

More rain showers are expected Thursday throughout San Diego County and there is a chance of thunderstorms Thursday afternoon in the mountains and deserts.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch from noon Thursday through Thursday evening in the mountains and deserts.

The low-pressure system making its way inland is expected to produce heavy rainfall at times, which could cause flooding in low-lying areas, areas with poor drainage and desert mountain slopes, forecasters said.

Escondido City Councilmember John Masson Dies

Flags are at half-staff over city facilities this week as the City of Escondido mourns the passing of city councilmember John Masson, who died Tuesday night of cancer.  They will remain at half-staff until Mr. Masson is interred.

The city released the following statement Wednesday afternoon: 

“The Escondido City Council is saddened to announce the passing of Councilmember John Masson. He was appointed to the Escondido City Council in 2012 and elected in November of 2014 representing District 2 and then re-elected in 2018. During his tenure on the Escondido City Council, Councilmember Masson served as the Deputy Mayor, a representative on the Economic Development Subcommittee of the City Council, representative to the San Diego County Water Authority, and as Escondido’s representative on the League of California Cities.” 

Sweetwater Authority Displays Winning Photos at Board Reception

Ten South Bay area high school students will be honored for their winning photos at today’s Sweetwater Authority Governing Board meeting.

Nearly 100 students from Sweetwater’s service area entered its annual water photo contest, which challenges students to showcase the importance of water in everyday life through photography. Students submitted photos in two categories.

The public is invited to an Artists’ Reception on Wednesday, March 11 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. to see all the winning photos on display. The event is being held at the Authority’s Administrative Office on 505 Garrett Avenue in Chula Vista.

Local Scientists Launch Weather Balloons to Study ‘Atmospheric River’

Local scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography are closely watching a storm system as it moves into Southern California.

Scientists are releasing weather balloons every three hours to study the storm system, classified as an atmospheric river.

“An atmospheric river is just a large amount of moisture that’s associated with the system,” said program analyst Brian Kawzenuk. “An atmospheric river is sort of what it sounds like: it’s a river in the atmosphere.”

The weather balloons will collect a plethora of data including temperature, wind speed, direction and more, allowing scientists to map out a vertical profile of the atmosphere as the system approaches.

San Diego County Supervisors OK Urban Agriculture Program

County supervisors Wednesday unanimously approved an ordinance to establish urban agriculture incentive zones, under which a tax reduction is given to residents who set up a small farm on their property.

In exchange for a tax reduction, eligible landowners would enter into a contract with the county to dedicate their land for agricultural use for a minimum of five years.

San Onofre Nuclear Plant Installs Radiation Monitoring System

The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station has unveiled a monitoring system that collects readings of the radiation emitted by the used-up nuclear fuel that is housed in a newly constructed storage facility at the plant.

Three monitors feed information directly to the California Department of Public Health’s Radiologic Health Branch, which will post a monthly report on the data to the department’s website for the public to access. The readings will also be sent to California State Parks and the city of San Juan Capistrano.

Opinion: A Week of Rain is Nice, but Does Virtually Nothing to Help L.A.’s Water Issues

Southern California’s March rain is a welcome relief, coming as it does after a mostly dry January and an absolutely desiccated February. Los Angeles, like much of the rest of the state, had been in drought and was getting by without severe conservation measures only because of reservoirs still brimming from the soaking winter of 2017 and a succession of moderately wet follow-ups.

We have a name for late winter storms that come at the end of mostly failed rainy seasons. We call them March Miracles. The granddaddy of them all came in 1991, when California was facing a desperate water shortage only to be hit by a late-March Sierra blizzard that packed a whole season’s worth of moisture into three days.

Tijuana River Sewage Pollution Shutters Beaches as far North as Coronado

Millions of gallons of polluted water have been regularly flowing over the border through the Tijuana River for months. The southern shoreline in Imperial Beach has been closed since November as a result.

“Things have gotten worse than ever,” said Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina. “Over the last three months, the levels of pollution are astronomical. We’ve never seen anything like it.”

Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey could not immediately be reached for comment.

Ten High School Photographers Honored by Helix Water District

Ten East County high school students were honored for their winning photos in the 2020 Helix Water District High School Photo Contest. The winning photographers were recognized at the February 26 board of directors meeting.

This year’s photo contest challenged high school photographers to highlight the importance and beauty of water in our everyday lives. Entrants were asked to show how water is used in homes and landscapes, in local businesses, for irrigating public spaces and parks, producing the goods we use and foods we eat, street cleaning, and firefighting.

San Diego County Received Heavy Rain Overnight, Will Get More Tuesday

A Pacific storm that is tapping into moisture from the sub-tropics dropped substantial amounts of rain across San Diego County before dawn on Tuesday, and more showers are expected as the system shuffles off to the east, according to the National Weather Service.