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.
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.
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
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:
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.
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.
July 18, 2015 (El Cajon)--Saturday morning July 18th began with an early morning wake up call by Mother Nature herself . The sound of lightning - THUNDER!
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.
Photo: View from Lyons Peak, Jamul, courtesy UCSD HP Wren webcam
Update 3:30 p.m. -
Mudslide across roadway: Highland Valley and Archie Moore roads, Ramona, CHP site reports
Hellhole Canyon Preserve: Vegetation fire, North County, per scanner
Lightning fire on hillside, Bancroft and Campo Rd. reported, scanner and CHP
June 30, 2015 (Lakeside) 2:40 p.m. - Thunder, lightning and heavy fires are sparking multiple emergency responses across East County. Here are highlights within the past hour:
Flooding is reporting in Alpine at Tavern and East Willow Road exits.
A fire was reported at 94 near Shockey Truck Trail.
Fire crews have also been dispatched to Kitchen Creek near Cameron Truck Trail, per scanner traffic.
An earlier fire on Highway 67 near Slaughterhouse Canyon is out, halted at about 3 acres.
Power lines are down and a power pole reported leaning across the roadway at Dye Road in Ramona.
SDG&E reports power outages in Eastlake/Otay are impacting 171 customers with restoration estimated at 6:30 p.m.
A larger outage is affected 623 households in Dulzura, Potrero, Campo, Japatul Valley, Buckman Springs, And Morena Village areas with rsetoration estimated for 4:30 p.m.
June 24, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Thunderstorms capable of heavy downpours, gusty winds and lightning strikes may hit our mountain and desert regions starting this weekend. The storms are forecast from Saturday through Tuesday, mainly in the afternoons and evenings.
June 16, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--With prolonged high temperatures expected to reach up to 115 in San Diego County deserts over the next few days, County health officials are reminding the public to take precautions to avoid heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses.
The National Weather Service in San Diego has issued a heat advisory in effect now through Sunday at 7 p.m. for the lower desert areas of eastern San Diego County. Temperatures inland will be anywhere from 5 to 10 degrees above average with high temperatures forecast of 112 to 115 degrees. Nighttime temperatures will only drop into the 80s. Mountain and foothill areas in the county are expected to be warm as well with highs in the 90s. Coastal areas will be near-normal temperatures.
The County operates the Cool Zones program and has designated more than 115 air-conditioned buildings as cooling centers. Locations and hours of operation can be found on a new interactive map on CoolZones.org or by calling 2-1-1 San Diego. The sites are identified by a light blue Polar Bear Cool Zone logo.
June 7, 2015 (San Diego) –Tropical Cyclone Blanca is making its way north from Baja, Mexico, bringing a threat of rain and thunderstorms to Southwestern California.
May 16, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - The storm that doused our region in recent days brought some welcome drought relief. According to the National Weather Service, so far in May, 2.35 inches have fallen in San Diego—making this the second wettest May in our region’s history and the wettest since 1921—and we still have half a month to go!
March 24, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--The National Weather Service predicts potentially record-breaking heat this weekend, as a ridge of high pressure builds up along the West Coast and offshore winds return.Inland valleys will see temperatures above 90 degrees and some low desert areas could see their first triple-digit temperature readings of the year by Saturday afternoon. On the coast, temperatures of 85 to 90 are expected.
March 16, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - After the weekend’s record-breaking temperatures, a high pressure system is forecast to bring cooler weather for the rest of this week.
March 11, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – An unseasonable heat wave is forecast for Friday through Monday, sending daytime temperatures to record levels west of the mountains with very low humidity, according to Alexander Tardy at the National Weather Service. Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-90s in San Diego County’s inland areas and well into the 80s for several hours each of these days, though the peak of the hot weather should occur Saturday and Sunday.
March 3, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--A storm that swept into our region over the weekend dropped over 8 inches of snow on Mt. Laguna and more than a foot on Palomar Mountain.
February 28, 2015 (San Diego)--There could be some unfamiliar stuff falling out of the sky over the next few days in San Diego County. That’s right — rain, and potentially, lots of it.
February 27, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – A winter storm is due to hit our region tonight through Monday, bringing strong gusty winds to mountains and deserts. Possible thunderstorms are possible starting Sunday night, bringing rain and potentially heavy snowfall down to levels that may include Julian, Descanso and Pine Valley.
The Sheriff offered this reminder to motorists traveling in the mountains: Have a full tank of gas, water and food supplies in case you are stranded in traffic for several hours. Have snow chains for areas where they will be required. Public restroom facilities are limited...Be mindful of areas that are private property which are marked by signs and fences. Private property is off limits to the public for recreational snow activities.
Parking violations will be enforced and citations will be issued. Vehicles blocking roadways and private property will be towed. Be aware of increased law enforcement activity to handle the large crowds.
February 25,2015 (San Diego’s East County)--While San Diegans are enjoying the sunshine lately, the Northeastern U.S. has been gripped by record cold temperatures and snow – a LOT of snow. Just how deep is it?
February 10, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) -- It’s shaping up to be a wild weather week, starting with waves up to 12 feet off San Diego’s coast, whipped up by strong offshore winds. Wind gusts Wednesday and Thursday could reach 50 miles an hour in inland mountains and canyons, a concern for firefighters in continuing warm, dry conditions with temperatures forecast to reach the 70s.
January 26, 2015 (San Diego)--If you’re traveling to the Northeast, you may have a long wait. Over 7,700 flights have been grounded—and many may not take off for days. That’s because the worst blizzard in years is slamming the region. The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for a 250-mile-wide area where whiteout conditions may occur.
January 25, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Light to moderate rain is forecast starting Monday afternoon, with showers dissipating by Tuesday afternoon. Up to an inch and a quarter of rain is possible in mountain areas, with less than a half inch in valleys and desert regions.
January 20, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) –The National Weather Service has issued a Drought Report following the recent rains. While the winter storms have brought some relief, water supplies remain low, though the situation may ease in coming months.
January 2, 2015 (Julian)--This week’s snowstorm transformed much of East County into a winter wonderland.
Nine inches of snow fell in Julian and a full foot blanketed the top of Mount Laguna, with several inches all the way down to Descanso, KNSJ’s home town.
The road to Julian has been ploughed and cleared for travel – but over this holiday weekend, that’s led to traffic jams as snow-loving San Diegans headed to the mountains.
January 1, 2014 (San Diego) – “The end of 2014 has come and despite the cold air and low snow levels, the year will end up being the warmest on record,” Alex Tardy, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego says.. “2014 also featured the worse 3 year drought for the state of California. The drought continues, but the year was also full of interesting and impacting weather events across southern California.”
December 31, 2014 (San Diego)--The old song says, “It never rains in Southern California.”
But when we do get rain or snow, like this week’s storm has brought, driving can be an adventure.
To make sure it doesn’t become a mis-adventure, here are some handy driving tips from San Diego County’s Department of Public Works , or DPW, that will help make your rainy drive safer.
December 31, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – A thick blanket of snow has fallen across much of San Diego’s inland region, transforming the terrain into a winter wonderland this New Year’s Eve. Lindy Klengler sent photos taken at her Hidden Meadows home in Escondido at just 1700 feet elevation, showing snow around her swimming pool and atop palm trees. “Been here 22 years and never had this happen,” she says.
Melody Munoz and Donna Tisdale sent photos from Boulevard, where three to four inches of snow fell overnight and the temperature on New Year’s morning is a chilly 21 degrees. Snow has also blanketed Descanso and coated landmarks in Jacumba.
Julian received 9 inches of snow and on Mt. Palomar, 12 inches—a foot—has fallen, according to the National Weather Service. ECM news partner 10 News observes that level “beats Big Bear!”
December 29, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)--The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning from 4 p.m. Tuesday night until 4 p.m. Wednesday for areas above 2,000 feet in elevation – though a dusting of snow could dip down to just 1,000 feet in some areas.
The storm, originating in Canada with very cold temperatures, could dump up to a foot of snow at elevations over 3,000 feet and 1 to 5 inches between 2,000 and 3,000 feet. Two to seven inches are forecast in high desert regions.
July 19, 2015 (La Mesa) -- Kristin Kjaero shot this sequence of photos during the mid day storms on Saturday, July 18, 2015.
nd food supplies in case you are stranded in traffic for several hours. Have snow chains for areas where they will be required. Public restroom facilities are limited...Be mindful of areas that are private property which are marked by signs and fences. Private property is off limits to the public for recreational snow activities.
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