The third and final wave of a dawdling Pacific storm will hit San Diego County Thursday afternoon, wrapping up four days of soaking rains, heavy snow, tree-snapping winds and lightning that arced through the darkest hours of the night, the National Weather Service says.
The unsettled weather will be much tamer than it was before dawn on Wednesday, when the wind gusted to 80 mph at El Cajon Mountain and 50 mph in and around San Diego, Oceanside and Imperial Beach. Snow was expected to approach a foot deep on Mount Laguna by Wednesday night.
The weather also delayed 161 flights at San Diego International Airport and dropped enough rain to make freeways slick during the morning rush hour.
At 10 a.m., the weather service released impressive rainfall totals for the first three days of the storm: Lake Cuyamaca, 5.89 inches; Julian, 4.78 inches; Henshaw Dam, 4.03 inches; Volcan Mountain, 3.93 inches; Pine Valley, 3.41 inches; Skyline Ranch, 3.11 inches; Descanso, 3.02 inches; Mt. Woodson, 2.70 inches; Ramona, 2.67 inches; Barona, 2.61 inches; Valley Center, 2.61 inches; Otay Mountain, 2.61 inches; Escondido, 2.26 inches; San Diego Country Estates, 2.16 inches; Miramar Lake, 2.13 inches; Poway, 2.08 inches; La Mesa, 1.98 inches; Santee, 1.96 inches; Fallbrook, 1.76 inches; Rancho Bernardo, 1.88 inches; Carlsbad, 1.70 inches; San Marcos, 1.61 inches; Brown Field, 1.57 inches; Fashion Valley, 1.39 inches; San Diego International Airport, 1.16 inches; National City, 1.14 inches; Point Loma, 1.03 inches; Oceanside, 1.01 inches; Chula Vista, 1.00 inches and Borrego Springs, 0.52 inches.
Blue Line Trolleys experienced delays Wednesday morning due to a fallen tree near the E Street Station in Chula Vista, the Metropolitan Transit District reported at 6 a.m. The Blue Line runs from San Ysidro to UTC.
The winds made driving dangerous for high-profile vehicles such as school buses in the Mountain Empire Unified School District Wednesday, prompting a no-school day.
More than 100 trees in a palm tree grove in San Pasqual Valley were ignited by lightning strikes early Tuesday morning. (Cal Fire San Diego)
A series of lightning strikes early Tuesday sparked a fire at a grove of palm trees in San Pasqual Valley, burning more than 100 trees, fire officials said.
The fire was reported shortly after 3 a.m. at the property off Highland Valley Road. The trees caught fire after there were “multiple lightning strikes” in the area, said sheriff’s Lt. Jason Phillips.
Fire crews from Escondido, San Diego and Cal Fire responded and put out the blaze, which charred around 2 acres. It did not spread to any structures, officials said.
“Crews worked quickly and were able to keep the fire from spreading to another grove nearby,” said San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesperson Candace Hadley. She said no one was injured in the blaze.
The rain will likely be gone by Friday. But maybe not for long. Early forecast models suggest that a new storm could be on its way by next Monday.
“The storm window is still open,” said forecaster Adam Roser, “and it could be for the rest of February.”
Staff writer Karen Kucher contributed to this report.