By Yvette Urrea Moe, County of San Diego Communications Office
Photo: Mount Laguna (Miriam Raftery)
December 3, 2019 (San Diego) - The following are tips and considerations for you if you plan to drive up to the snow:
Be prepared for significant traffic delays in both directions due to both road conditions and the sheer volume of motorists. Prior snowfalls have left drivers in up to five-hour waits on the roads.
You should have a full tank of gas. Don’t count on filling up along the way.
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February 22, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – “Yeah. I’m not going anywhere for a while,” Dave Hogan posted on Facebook. Snow outside his home between Pine Valley and Mt. Laguna measured over 19 inches.
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ByAndy Tolley, County of San Diego Communications Office
February 22, 2019 (Mt. Laguna) - A big snow day at Mt. Laguna meansCounty Public Works crews are busy clearing the roads. But if they determine that chains are required, the CHP gets involved.
Be sure to check the road conditions before embarking on a trip to the snow.
Chain controls, road condition updates and other safety advisories about County-maintained roads are posted on the Department of Public Work’sFacebookandTwitter sites.
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February 21, 2019 (Julian) – Carol Faith from Julian sent in this photo of frost patterns on her window pane framing views of snow outside.
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Photo: Mt. Laguna, courtesy SDG&E camera via HP Wren
January 1, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) – Two and a half inches of snow have fallen in Julian on New Year’s Eve, with an inch reported atop Mt. Laguna and Mt. Palomar. A light dusting of snow fell at lower elevations including Cuyamaca in East County’s mountains.
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February 26, 2018 (Anza-Borrego) – The Anza Borrego Desert Research Center has posted stunning photos on its Twitter feed showing snowfall transforming the desert to a fairytale scene, as well dramatic sun rays, all taken in Sicco Road in Anza-Borrego State Park between Feb. 14 and 22.
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February 21, 2018 (San Diego’s East County) -- Due to this week's winter storm, there is the possibility of snowfall in San Diego County Mountain areas including Julian, Pine Valley and Descanso.
For those planning to head out to the mountains, the Sheriff's Department wants to remind you to be prepared. Be sure to check road conditions before heading out. Have a full tank of gas, water and food supplies in case you are stranded in traffic since this region is known for “snow jams.”
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February 8, 2017 (Boulevard) — Peggy Hayden, school office services coordinator at Clover Flat School on Old Highway 80 in Boulevard, send in these winter wonderland photos taken on January 23rd at the school and at Manzanita Dulce Rd, also in Boulevard.
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January 27, 2017 (Cuyamaca) – Tom Lemon ventured into the Laguna Mountains today and sent us this beautiful photo of the thick blanket of snow across the area. “I saw where the plows had moved a lot of snow and today there were three plows working to clear the side of the Sunrise Highway to the edge of the pavement and parking areas at the lodge, visitor center, and the restaurants,” he wrote. “We stopped at Cuyamaca Lake to walk across the causeway and I could not continue because of the 40 MPH wind and spray from whitecaps on the lake.”
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December 24, 2016 (Boulevard) – “Check out the three inches or so of snow we woke up to in the Tierra Del Sol area of Boulevard!” writes Donna Tisdale, who sent in these photos taken on Christmas Eve morning.
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November 25, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – Rain, thunderstorms and high winds are forecast starting Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening to cap off Thanksgiving weekend. Up to three inches of snow is possible above 5,500 feet, with rain-slicked highways expected to slow holiday travelers in lower elevations.
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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.
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February 26, 2013 (Descanso) -- Julie Salmons shot these photos after this week’s heavy snowfall blanketed her community in Descanso.
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February 17, 2013 (McCain Valley) – Melody Ponchot of Boulevard sent this beautiful set of photos from an early morning adventure she took with a friend, Donna Tisdale, after the snowfall last weekend.
“Four wheeling in the snow to McCain Valley is so much fun,” she observed.
This pristine public land, one of East County’s most beautiful recreational areas, is slated to be razed for construction of Tule Wind, an industrial wind facility approved by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management despite overwhelming public opposition.
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January 12, 2012 (Jacumba) -- This week's winter storm brought an unusual treat for residents of Jacumba, elevation 2850: snow! Danielle Cook took these photos outside Jacumba Hot Springs, where a light dusting of snow blanketed the area. Don't rush out to visit, though -- it's already melting away in the mid-day sun.
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December 31, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – A photo is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes. East County Magazine’s photographers and readers have compiled an impressive portfolio of dramatic images this year. These are our editor’s picks for the photos that create an emotional chord, from inspiration to anguish. We deeply appreciate our professional photojournalists and citizen photographers who helped document the images that defined the news and character of our region this year.
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March 19, 2012 (San Diego's East County) -- As a late winter storm sweeps across our region, readers in San Diego's East County have shared some of their favorite photos of the season.
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February 22, 2011 (Laguna Mountain)-- Laguna Mountain was a winter wonderland on February 21, 2011. More than a foot of snow fell from last weeks storm, bringing thousands of visitors to play in the snow on a "bluebird" Presidents day in the East County of San Diego, to use a ski term for a day of blue, sunny skies after a snowfall.
My grandsons and I took a short drive from El Cajon to Laguna Mountain today. What a sight! After leaving I-8 east, we wound up the Sunrise Highway in anticipation, where we were greeted by thick blankets of snow covering the tall pine and oak trees and meadows.
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“The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired in value.” – President Theodore Roosevelt
By Miriam Raftery
February 21, 2011 (Palomar Mountain) –President Theodore Roosevelt, the great conservationist who founded our national park system, once observed, “There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm.”
Roosevelt would have been enchanted by the pristine beauty of Palomar Mountain, blanketed in a foot of snow this President’s Day. No doubt he would also feel melancholy to learn that Palomar State Park is among those state parks under consideration for possible closure due to the state's budget gap. For now, however, visitors frolick in the powdery snow, most blissfully oblivious that the park's fate hangs in the balance.
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Local news in the public interest is more important now than ever, during the COVID-19 crisis. Our reporters, as essential workers, are dedicated to keeping you informed, even though we’ve had to cancel fundraising events. Please give the gift of community journalism by donating at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate.
Local news in the public interest is more important now than ever, during the COVID-19 crisis. Our reporters, as essential workers, are dedicated to keeping you informed, even though we’ve had to cancel fundraising events. Please give the gift of community journalism by donating at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate.
UPDATE 9 p.m. A winter storm warning remains in effect through Thursday morning.
I-8, closed earlier in portions of East county due to snow, has been reopened,
according to the California Department of Transportation website, though many
accidents are reported and conditions remain hazardous-. State Route 79 remains
closed from I-8 to 11.9 miles south of the junction of State Route 78. State
Route 78 is closed from Washington Street in Julian to 11.9 miles east of the
junction or SR 79. For updates on these and other roadways, check the California
Department of Transportation website at http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi.
Six to eight inches of snow have fallen in Julian today and ten to twelve inches
at Mount Laguna. At Camp Palomar, Middle School students are reportedly snowed
in. Send your photos of winter weather conditions to editor@eastcountymagazine.org.
December
17, 2008, 12 noon (San Diego's East County) — Heavy snowfall is blanketing
much of East County, clogging major highways.
"Snow is falling on I-8 from the Golden Acorn Casino east to Jacumba," CAL
FIRE Captain Nick Schuler told East County Magazine, calling from
Boulevard where an estimated one to two inches of snow covered the ground. "I'm
out here with a four-wheel-drive vehicle and I wouldn't recommend cars out
here. We are responding to accidents on the I-8 corridor." CAL
FIRE also responded to a fire on BIA 15 south of Highway 94 this morning, where
a home burned to the ground, Schuler reported.
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Local news in the public interest is more important now than ever, during the COVID-19 crisis. Our reporters, as essential workers, are dedicated to keeping you informed, even though we’ve had to cancel fundraising events. Please give the gift of community journalism by donating at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate.
By Yvette Urrea Moe, County of San Diego Communications Office
February 26, 2013 (Descanso) -- Julie Salmons shot these photos after this week’s heavy snowfall blanketed her community in Descanso. 
January 12, 2012 (Jacumba) -- This week's winter storm brought an unusual treat for residents of Jacumba, elevation 2850: snow! Danielle Cook took these photos outside Jacumba Hot Springs, where a light dusting of snow blanketed the area. Don't rush out to visit, though -- it's already melting away in the mid-day sun.
March 19, 2012 (San Diego's East County) -- As a late winter storm sweeps across our region, readers in San Diego's East County have shared some of their favorite photos of the season.
February 22, 2011 (Laguna Mountain)-- Laguna Mountain was a winter wonderland on February 21, 2011. More than a foot of snow fell from last weeks storm, bringing thousands of visitors to play in the snow on a "bluebird" Presidents day in the East County of San Diego, to use a ski term for a day of blue, sunny skies after a snowfall. 
UPDATE 9 p.m. A winter storm warning remains in effect through Thursday morning.
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