Advertisement
Advertisement

Big storm to hit San Diego

Share

San Diego’s unusually mild, dry winter will be interrupted Friday by a powerful Pacific storm that will drop 1 inches to 2 inches of rain along the coast, 2 to 3 inches in the foothills and valleys, and 5 inches or more on some south-facing mountain slopes in East County, the National Weather Service says. A flash flood advisory will be in effect in East County beginning before dawn on Friday. The leading edges of the system could produce sporadic showers on Thursday.

“The jet stream is going to come directly over San Diego part of Friday, which doesn’t happen too often,” says Brandt Maxwell, a weather service forecaster. “We tend to get this kind of storm only once a year. We’re going to go from having one of the driest winters on record to one that’s just a bit drier.”

San Diego had been on track to experience the driest December-through-February period in history. Lindbergh Field has received only 0.85 inches of rain since December 1. But the upcoming storm will arrive on February 28th and will likely produce heavy rain from roughly noon to 8 p.m., Maxwell says. The rain will continue to fall on a periodic basis well into Saturday. Winds will blow 30-35 mph at local beaches, and gusts could reach the 40-50 mph range.

Advertisement

The county hasn’t experienced large wildfires this winter, despite the dry -- and often windy -- weather. That means that there’s little freshly exposed soil to contribute to mudslides. But Maxwell says the rain could cause flash flooding across the county and that it might raise the level of the San Diego River enough to produce minor flooding in parking lots in the Mission Valley area.

Storm could whip up 15’ waves

Follow the U-T’s extended surf and weather coverage on Facebook

Advertisement