Tag Archive for: The San Diego Union-Tribune

Epic Snow In Sierra As Atmospheric River Storms Keep On Coming

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune

Atmospheric river storms pounding Northern California with rain have also brought epic snow to the Sierra. Meteorologist Jim Mathews says that since 1950 only six years have surpassed the total “snow water content” that California has right now. The state’s snowpack — measured using the snow’s water content — is at 130% of its usual level on April 1 (after that date, the snow tends to begin to melt). It’s at 150% of the amount that’s normal for this time in February.

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Storm Will Bypass San Diego Wednesday, But Second System Could Bring Rain Saturday

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

The tail of the storm that’s been dropping heavy rain and snow in Northern California will slump into the southern part of the state on Wednesday. But the National Weather Service says the system will mostly — or entirely — bypass San Diego County. Forecasters say it appears that only a few hundredths of an inch of rain will fall locally, and most of it will be in northern San Diego County. There is no significant snow in the forecast for the region’s mountains.

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Cities, County Looking To Team Up On Public Alternative To SDG&E

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Elected officials throughout the San Diego region are ramping up efforts to form a public alternative to San Diego Gas & Electric, with the city of San Diego leading the way and even the county Board of Supervisors now looking at signing up. California’s three large investor-owned utilities have since 2010 seen more than 8 million customers defect to so-called community choice aggregation programs, from Humboldt to Los Angeles to Solana Beach. However, SDG&E is now facing the largest displacement of a utility’s customer base in the state — raising question about everything from grid reliability to whether the public alternative can deliver more renewable energy as promised.

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Water Transfer Between Reservoirs Set To Generate Cost Savings For South Bay Customers

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby David Hernandez Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The water gushed from a valve near the base of the Loveland Reservoir’s dam at 146,300 gallons per minute, cascading into the Sweetwater River below. The impressive sight near Alpine — which occurred, purposely, at 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 15 — marked the start of an ongoing transfer of water from the Loveland Reservoir to the Sweetwater Reservoir, where the water will be treated by the Sweetwater Authority and later supplied to the water agency’s customers in National City, Chula Vista and Bonita.

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Groups working Together To Help Beautify El Cajon’s Hidden Forester Creek

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Karen Pearlman

Forester Creek, an 11-mile-long tributary of the San Diego River leading to the Pacific Ocean, was once a major natural feature in El Cajon. But the creek and its three tributaries that flow through the city and into Santee via cement channels is in need of some TLC. Much of the creek is fenced off, hidden behind businesses and residential areas. The waterway is polluted with trash and is considered to have the lowest water quality of any of the river’s tributaries, according to The San Diego River Park Foundation.

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Record-Breaking Storm Causes Flooding Countywide, Delays Air Traffic; 7 School Districts Cancel Friday Classes

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins, Karen Kucher and Teri Figueroa

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.

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Storm Drops 5.5 Inches Of Rain On Palomar, Floods Part Of Fashion Valley, And Buffets Jets With High Winds

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins and Karen Kucher

A big plume of moisture from the sub-tropics has dropped nearly 6 inches of rain on Palomar Mountain, caused flooding in the Fashion Valley Mall area, and generated strong winds that are shaking commercial jets during takeoffs and landings at San Diego International Airport. Through 6 a.m. Thursday, the winds had hit 37 mph at the airport, 48 mph at Scripps Pier and 69 mph on Palomar Mountain. SeaWord will remained closed throughout the day. The storm intensified before dawn and is unleashing heavy rain countywide, causing hazardous driving and bringing a regional flood advisory that will be in effect until 10:30 p.m.

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Storm Will Plant A Wet One On San Diego This Valentine’s Day

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

Not to take the romance out of Valentine’s Day, but this year a sturdy umbrella might be a better gift than chocolate or flowers. The National Weather Service says a huge, warm plume of moisture from the sub-tropics will arrive in San Diego County and drench a region that’s already squishy from earlier storms. The system will begin spreading rain late Wednesday. But the core will hit on Thursday — Valentine’s Day — when the moisture rides up the side of local mountains, condenses, and unleashes heavy rain. Its called orographic lift.

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New Scale Will Measure Atmospheric Rivers In California From 1 To 5, Like Hurricanes

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

Marty Ralph was sitting in a San Francisco restaurant a couple of years ago when the morning forecast came on the TV, showing the typical weather symbols indicating what the week ahead would bring: a sun, a cloud, a rainy cloud and a darker, more ominous rainy cloud. Ralph, the director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, knew that at the end of the week, an intense atmospheric river storm was coming through the area. But he didn’t think the TV meteorologists could convey that very well with the icons on the screen. So he and a team of researchers got to work creating a ranking system that would be more helpful.

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San Diego County to Get Foot of Snow, Heavy Rain in ‘Full On’ Day of Winter Tuesday

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

Tuesday’s weather forecast contains a sentence not often heard in San Diego County: We’re going to have a day of full-on winter. A distinct river of uncommonly cold, moist air will flow through the region, bringing heavy snow to parts of Mount Laguna and Palomar Mountain, and about half as much to some lower elevations. The mountain peaks could wind up with a foot of snow between late Monday and late Tuesday, while areas like Julian could get a half-foot, said the National Weather Service.

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