Wet, Wintry Storm Grips Region

A cold late-autumn storm doused the San Diego area with downpours and dusted its eastern mountains with snow today.

Showers began moving slowly inland from the coast shortly before 6 a.m., making for a challenging morning commute, according to the National Weather Service and California Highway Patrol.

The blustery conditions prevailed through the day, with the dark clouds delivering from one-tenth of an inch to just over an inch of moisture across the region, the NWS reported.

By 5 p.m., the wintry Pacific storm had dropped 1.06 inches of precipitation at McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad; 0.83 in Fallbrook; 0.75 in Encinitas, 0.71 in eastern El Cajon and the Rainbow area; 0.69 in Escondido; 0.63 in Bonsall; 0.62 in Dulzura; 0.59 La Mesa; 0.56 in Oceanside; 0.48 in San Onofre; 0.47 in Descanso; 0.41 on the northeast side of San Diego Bay; 0.35 in Mission Valley; 0.3 in Ramona; and 0.25 in Borrego Springs.

Between midnight and early evening, meanwhile, the CHP logged 188 traffic accidents, including one that resulted in a fatality, on local freeways and rural roads. By comparison, the state agency generally responds to 50-75 collisions across the county over a full day of fair weather.

The unsettled atmospheric system, which brought flurries of snow over the day to the tourist-magnet mountain town of Julian and other East County locales, was expected to keep generating scattered showers overnight and into Tuesday afternoon before moving out of the area to the southeast.

A winter storm warning was slated to remain in effect until 2 p.m. Tuesday, advising travelers to take precautions — including packing tire chains prior to driving into highland areas — for heavy snowfall and foggy conditions in high elevation spots. 

—City News Service