The first in a series of Pacific storms moved into San Diego County on Wednesday and began spreading much-needed rain, before a second wave was expected to follow Thursday night into Friday morning.
By the time the storm leaves Friday, it is expected to drop between .75 and 1.25 inches of rain at the coast and in valleys and 1 to 2 inches — possibly more — in the mountains, the National Weather Service said.
“This is a cold storm,” said NWS meteorologist Alex Tardy in a Wednesday evening briefing, adding that it could even dump as much as a foot of snow at the county’s higher elevations.
“We do expect big snowfall above 5,000 feet,” Tardy said. Several inches could fall above 4,000 feet, an area that includes a portion of Interstate 8 east of Alpine. “We could even see some flakes at 3,500 feet Friday morning.”
The winds will be strong over mountain passes, too, forecasters say. And there could be isolated thunderstorms, particularly Thursday evening.
Across the county, as much as half an inch of rain could fall per hour during the most intense downpours, forecasters warned — although flash-flooding risks were expected to remain low.
“Plan on slippery road conditions,” the weather service said in a statement. “The hazardous conditions could impact the Thursday morning and evening commutes. Strong winds could cause tree damage.”
The weekend is expected to be dry. But in a welcome boon for a parched region, two more storms will follow within the week — one Monday, another Wednesday, according to the NWS.
“Now remember, our deficits are 5, 6 inches of rain, and in San Diego we’ve only seen about an inch and a half. So these totals will be beneficial to the drought situation,” Tardy said.
The precipitation will cause green shoots of vegetation to pop up across the region, especially in the backcountry. But seasonal rainfall will remain far below average.
The San Diego airport has only recorded 1.34 inches of precipitation since the rainy season began Oct. 1.
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