Here’s how much rain fell on Monday and early Tuesday at more than 50 locations across San Diego County. A new round of rain will move ashore on Christmas night and will last into Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
San Onofre: 1.85″
Brown Field: 1.74″
Otay Mountain: 1.70″
Lake Cuyamaca: 1.66″
Kearny Mesa: 1.38″
Point Loma: 1.36″
A new storm fed by the first atmospheric river of the season is expected bring rain to Northern and Central California beginning Saturday, and cause significant travel delays and hazards for Thanksgiving travelers returning home on Sunday, the National Weather Service said.
Based on predictions of its water vapor transport capacity, this atmospheric river is classified as moderate to strong.
A storm currently along the California coast is loaded with moisture and will slam the northern part of the state with inches of rain and yards of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains during the first couple of days of December.
The storm will be double-barreled in nature with the first part set to slam Northern California into Monday afternoon. The second phase is likely to focus on Southern California during Tuesday night and Wednesday.
The first rain storm of the season is expected to move into the region Tuesday, bringing significant rainfall throughout San Diego County along with the possibility of snow in the mountains.
A low pressure system to the south will make its way north and meet a colder, low pressure system that is making its way down the coast, National Weather Service meteorologist Miguel Miller said.
These conditions are expected to produce rain starting Tuesday evening and continuing through Thursday night, with the heaviest rainfall expected on Wednesday, Miller said.
Storms and flooding have caused significant damage throughout the U.S. during the first half of 2019. The Associated Press tallied about $1.2 billion of damage in 24 states based on preliminary assessments of public infrastructure categories established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The tally includes damage to roads and bridges, utilities, water control facilities, public buildings and equipment, and parks. Each state must meet particular damage thresholds to qualify for federal aid based on their populations. Most, though not all, of the damage costs tallied by the AP will be eligible for federal aid. Figures for some states include updated damage costs provided to the AP by state agencies after their initial reports to FEMA.
A pattern change will allow California to cool off a bit, but also cause drenching storms to erupt over the interior West. On Sunday, temperatures soared to near-record levels above 100 F across California’s interior. However, the record-challenging heat will subside early this week. An area of high pressure shifting eastward will gradually cause temperatures to drop across interior California and then the remainder of the Southwest. “The first to feel these changes will be California, when temperatures will start trending down on Monday,” said AccuWeather Long-Range Meteorologist Max Vido.
Another round of soaking winter weather is on the horizon for the West Coast, with a series of storms expected to impact the region through midweek. Dry weather has been rare for much of California over the past week, with Sunday acting as a brief respite before more rain arrived overnight. “Unsettled weather will continue across the West Coast this week as more rain and mountain snow targets Northern California, Oregon and Washington,” according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Max Vido.
Get your umbrellas back out because California’s wet winter isn’t over yet. A moisture-rich atmospheric river that is bearing down on Northern California is expected to dump up to 8 inches of rain on portions of the Bay Area, unleash gusty winds and bring the potential for widespread flooding through at least Thursday. The storm, bringing warm air from the tropics into the region, is expected to raise snow levels to 6,000 feet across much of the Sierra Nevada, said Hannah Chandler-Cooley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.
A Pacific storm supercharged by moisture from the subtropics slammed San Diego County on Thursday, flooding streets, snapping trees, closing schools, causing rock slides and delaying commercial airline traffic. The “atmospheric river” streamed ashore from east of Hawaii and dropped more than 10 inches of rain on Palomar Mountain, more than 6 inches in Julian and close to 3.5 inches in Oceanside. The system produced one of wettest winter days in decades, breaking daily rainfall records in seven communities, including Palomar. The mountain received 10.10 inches, snapping the record of 9.58 inches, set on Feb. 14, 1991. Ramona got 4.05 inches, nearly 2 inches higher than a record set in 1995.
Riverside County officials Thursday urged residents in Idyllwild and surrounding areas to shelter in place due to “unsafe” road conditions as torrential rain inundated Southern California, turning tunnels into lakes and streets into rivers. Anyone living in the areas of Idyllwild, Mountain Center, and Pine Cove were urged to shelter in place or head to Idylllwild School at 26700 Highway 243, according to Cal Fire. Highway 243 near Lake Fulmore, north of Idyllwild, was “washed away” by the storm, according to California Highway Patrol.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
