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4 ESSENTIAL FACTS ABOUT THUNDERSTORMS EVERY FAMILY SHOULD KNOW

By Sara Bell

Image via Pixabay by panicci

November 10, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--In many places throughout the country, thunderstorms—and the rain, wind, hail, and lightning that come with them—are unavoidable. And in fact, according to the National Weather Forecast Office, lightning from thunderstorms causes “several hundred million dollars “ in property damage each year, while hail causes $1 billion in damages each year.

You might think that since there is nothing you can do to prevent thunderstorms, there’s nothing—other than staying indoors—that you can do to protect yourself, your family, and your home from their, sometimes, devastating effects.

STORM WALLOPS REGION: TRAPS 20 CARS IN FLOODWATERS

 

By Miriam Raftery

November 4, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) –Last night’s storm brought lightning, thunder and heavy rains across Southern California, bringing welcome relief from drought but wreaking havoc on area highways.  All lanes flooded on State Route 94 near the College exit and vehicles exiting on Federal Blvd. quickly became stuck in rising floodwaters  reportedly up to the hoods – sending some cars afloat, necessitating rescues. ECM news partner 10 News has video shot by one motorist trapped in flooding: http://www.10news.com/news/video-san-diego-couple-trapped-in-floating-car .

The deluge last night fell on already rain-soaked areas from lighter showers earlier in the day. By 1 p.m., over an inch of rain had already fallen in Lemon Grove and many mountain areas, with 1.39 inches recorded at the Pine Hills area near Julian.

STRONGEST HURRICANE EVER RECORDED BARRELS TOWARD MEXICO

 

East County News Service

October 23, 2015 (San Diego) – Hurricane Patricia, described as a “potentially catastrophic hurricane” by the National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Center, is forecast to slam into the Pacific coast of Mexico later today.  With winds of 200  miles per hour, Hurricane Patricia is the strongest hurricane ever recorded by the center, which tracks all storms in North America.

CNN reports that 50,000 people have been evacuated along the Mexican coast, where a storm surge wave of 30 feet is expected to hit the Mexican state of Jalisco. The powerful storm is between Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco, about 85 miles southwest of Manzanillo Mexico and 155 miles south of Cabo Corrientes. Flights from San Diego and elsewhere in California into the region have been cancelled, the Los Angeles Times reports.

HEAT ADVISORY ISSUED

East County Alerts

October 11, 2015 (San Diego)--The National Weather Service in San Diego has issued a heat advisory for San Diego County inland coastal and western valley areas from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday (today).

Temperatures are expected to range from 90 to 95 degrees for inland coastal areas and 95 to 99 in western valley areas.

The County issued an alert at 10:45 a.m. today. The County continues to operate the Cool Zones program and has designated buildings as cooling centers.

EL NINO COULD LEAD TO SEVERE FLOODING IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY

 

 

East County News Service

By Ed Barrena

A new report by the National University System Institute for Policy Research (NUSIPR) has some grave warnings for San Diego County. The report states that roughly 55,000 residents and 5,000 businesses could be located in “100 year flood zones."  These areas could see flooding during the upcoming El Nino, which is forecast to be extremely severe.

STRONG EL NINO THIS WINTER COULD RIVAL HISTORIC WET WINTERS

 

East County News Service

September 30, 2015 (San Diego)—The Federal government’s Western Regional Climate Center is predicting with 92% certainty a strong El Niño from December to February.  Additionally, forecasters say there is a 50% chance that winter precipitation totals will be in the top 33% of historic values across Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico.

FLASH FLOOD WATCH MONDAY AND TUESDAY FOR MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS

 

East County News Service

File photo: Flooded road in Pine Valley, by Alex Tardy, National Weather Service

September 20, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch, cautioning that heavy rainfall and flash flooding is possible from Monday afternoon through Tuesday in San Diego’s eastern mountains and deserts.

Rainfall could exceed two inches in mountains and could top an inch in the deserts.  Recent wildfire burned areas will be particularly susceptible to flash flooding and debris flows.

STORM BREAKS RECORDS

 

East County News Service

The National Weather Service reports that Tuesday’s storm, remnants of Hurricane Linda that drenched our region, has broken rainfall records.

Lindbergh Field got 1.21 inches of rain on Tuesday alone, breaking the previous record for September 14th set 109 years ago – and that old record was just over a tenth of an inch.Tuesday was also the second wettest day in September ever.

COOLER TEMPERATURES AND WET WEATHER FORECAST

 

 

East County News Service

Photo by Alex Tardy, National Weather Service forecaster

September 13, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--If you’re looking to beat the heat, here’s some news you can use.

Cooler weather is coming to our region, with the remnants of Hurricane Linda  forecast to bring showers starting Monday night through Wednesday. Over an inch of rain could fall in the mountain areas.

HURRICANE KATHLEEN ANNIVERSARY: A LOOK BACK AT THE WORST STORM EVER TO HIT OUR REGION

 

By Miriam Raftery – Photo by Jim Larson, Caltrans

September 8, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Exactly 39 years ago this week, Hurricane Kathleen struck our region – the most powerful tropical cylone ever to hit San Diego and Imperial Counties. With another powerful storm, Hurricane Linda, set to sock our region starting Wednesday, it’s worth remembering just how much devastation was wrought the last such storm set to hit the identical area, on the very same day of the year.

FLASH FLOOD WATCH ISSUED AS HEAVY RAINS FROM HURRICANE LINDA HIT EAST COUNTY

 

Some dangerous road conditions are reported across region

East County News Service

Photo by Paul Cummings: View from Mt. Laguna looking south at 1:30 p.m.

September 8, 2015 (San Diego’s East County ) – The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for San Diego County’s mountains, lower and upper deserts in effect now through Thursday.

Tropical moisture is building across the region, bringing thunderstorms , locally heavy rainfall and flash flooding possible.  Heavy rain and flooding are reported currently in Boulevard and Pine Valley, the CHP website reports.  A mudslide is reported on San Felipe Road 2 miles south of State Route 79, blocking the roadway.

STORMY WEATHER TO RETURN

 

 

East County News Service

Photo credit: NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)

September 7, 2015 (San Diego's East County) --Thunderstorms erupted Monday over the San Diego County mountains and drifted into the deserts, where strong slow-moving cells produced 1-2" of rain in an hour. Flash flooding was reported in the San Diego County deserts on Hwy 78 and Highway S2.

Thunderstorms are likely to form again Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons in the mountains and deserts, the National Weather Service predicts. Heavy rains with any slow moving thunderstorms may produce flash flooding over the mountain areas and the lower deserts, as well as debris flows.

WET WINTER ON THE WAY

 

By Tasha Matthews

August, 17, 2015 (San Diego)—National Weather Service forecasters are predicting a wet winter in San Diego due to the probability of a strong El Niño, perhaps the strongest since records began in 1950.

An El Niño occurs as a result of warming ocean surface waters which release heat into the atmosphere over the Pacific, creating a chain reaction that can result in cloud formation, storms and heavy rainfall.

EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING ISSUED FOR WEEKEND

 

 

By Miriam Raftery

August 13, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) –The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for San Diego County deserts and a heat advisory for mountain and valley areas. 

The warning and advisory are in effect from Friday at 1 p.m. to Monday at 9 p.m. Temperatures are forecast to reach 116 in Borrego Springs, 105 in Campo, 104 in Ramona, 102 in Alpine and 100 in El Cajon, shattering prior records.

HEAT WAVE, POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS, AND METEOR SHOWERS THIS WEEK

 

August 9, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) –  A heat wave is forecast to hit our region starting mid-week, with heat advisories possible by week’s end.  A high pressure system could bring temperatures above 100 degrees in inland valleys as well as deserts.

FROM THE FIRE CHIEF'S CORNER: WE'VE SEEN FIRE AND WE'VE SEEN RAIN - AND WE'RE GOING TO SEE MORE!

 

By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

July 29, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) --We feel the impact every day. Warm temperatures and lack of rain continue to increased drought conditions. With greater evaporation, particularly during the summer and fall, this will and is exacerbating drought conditions resulting in an extremely high increase of wildfires. Fires are spreading at a phenomenal rate of spread. A deadly and disastrous rate that impacts us all!

EMERGENCY CENTER OPENS IN RAMONA

 

July 28, 2015 (Ramona) - If you suffered damage from flooding, mudslides and heavy rain during the storm July 18 and 19, the County has set up a Local Assistance Center at the Ramona Library, located at 1275 Main Street in Ramona. It will remain open through August 1st to provide recovery information for residents and business owners in need of help.

PROPERTY OWNERS MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR RAIN RECOVERY ASSISTANCE

County News Service

Photo: County crews work to clean up mud flow on Rutherford Road in Ramona, where over 3 inches of rain fell on Sunday.

July 20, 2015 (San Diego) -- The remnants of Hurricane Dolores created record rainfall in San Diego County, taking residents by surprise over the weekend. If your property or small business sustained damage from the weekend’s heavy rains and flooding, the County would like your help to estimate rain damages in our region.

The County Office of Emergency Services is asking storm-affected residents to complete a short damage survey form that will assist the County in collecting damage information and associated costs from the weekend’s heavy rains and flooding.

The information gathered from the surveys will be used to estimate total damages countywide and will determine if enough damages occurred to qualify the region for federal disaster assistance, such as low interest disaster loans from the Small Business Administration for those who are uninsured or underinsured.

I-10 BRIDGE COLLAPSES IN DESERT: MAIN ROUTE FROM CALIFORNIA TO ARIZONA

 

By Miriam Raftery

Photos and video courtesy of Cal Fire

July 19, 2015 (Palm Springs)—Heavy rains washed out a bridge east of Palm Springs at Adair (four miles west of Desert Center) late today and caused it to collapse. The dramatic failure forced closure of I-10 in both directions and injured a motorist who plunged into the abyss.  CHP reports that 30 feet of the I-10 freeway washed away—the major route from Riverside and Los Angeles counties into Arizona.

Motorists have been stuck in traffic for hours and motels quickly filled up, local TV stations report.  There is no quick alternative; drivers have been diverted several hours out of their way to I-8 in the southern part of the state, or to another major highway farther north.

ROADWAY HAZARDS REPORTED FROM STORM

Update: 10 News reports cars underwater in Ramona.

Update: Heartland Fire also reports flooding in La Mesa on Avocado between 70th St. and Guava.

The City of La Mesa has cancelled its Sundays at Six concert tonight due to flooding around Harry Griffen Park.

July 19, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The CHP incidents page reports numerous roadway hazards related to the stormy weather, including some rockin' and rollin' mud, rocks and flooding. Here are the latest details:

  • State Route 79 at Chihuahua Valley: Sig Alert issued, roadway shut down
  • I-8 east, old Sunrise Highway: large rocks down in lanes
  • Highway 79 at Horizon View Drive: Rock slides blocking lanes
  • State Route 78 at Wynola:  Mud and rockslide blocking one side of highway
  • Old Julian Highway just west of Camel Dairy: road blocked both ways by rocks
  • I-15 south connection to Highway 52: rider down in lane
  • Ramona View Dr. in El Cajon: roadway completely washed out

FLASH FLOOD WARNING AND WATCH NOW IN EFFECT

 

 

East County Alert

July 19, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning due to imminent threat of flooding in certain mountain areas, where residents are urged to move to high ground.

There is also a flash flood watch in effect for all San Diego County valleys, deserts and mountain areas, including places where debris flows are possible.  Below are full texts of both alerts:

RECORD RAINFALL DRENCHES COUNTY, BREAKS CENTURY-OLD RECORD

 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Robert Gehr (c) 2015

July 19, 2015 (San Diego) – Saturday’s deluge, remnants of a hurricane off the Baja coast, set a new record rainfall for the month of July in San Diego and many other local cities, Alex Tardy, Meteorologist Manager at the National Weather Service, San Diego reports.  At Lindbergh Field airport, 1.03 inches of rain has fallen so far this month, topping the old record of 0.92 inches set back in July 1902.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park got 1.16 inches and Ramona’s airport got a full inch. Campo received .99, while Alpine and El Cajon measured .95 inches on Saturday, putting all of these communities above normal for the whole month of July.

The downpour forced cancellation of some events, such as Concert at the Lakes in Santee.

FLASH FLOOD WATCH: MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS

 

East County News Service

July 18, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for the mountains and deserts through Sunday evening. Heavy rain is now falling across much of East County, with thunder and lightning reporting in La Mesa, El Cajon, mountain areas and other locations.

Moisture from Hurricane Dolores will continue to spread northward into Southern California today and Sunday, bringing thunderstorms and locally  heavy rainfall.

FORECAST OF STRONG EL NINO COULD MEAN A WET CALIFORNIA WINTER

 

Reprinted with permission from Times of San Diego

By Chris Jennewein

NOAA ocean measurements for July 1 show El Nino pattern off South America

July 12, 2015 (San Diego)--An El Niño ocean-warming cycle is strengthening in the Pacific and could produce a wet winter for drought-stricken Southern California.

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