Storm Hits S.D. County With Unexpected Punch

The light showers forecast for Saturday morning turned into more of a light show as thunder and lightning accompanied a steady two-hour downpour in most areas of San Diego County.

Minor power outages and traffic problems were reported, but the surprisingly strong storm caused no major damage.

Before drifting eastward, the storm dropped .32 of an inch of rain at Lindbergh Field, National Weather Service forecaster Harvey Hastrup said.

Other storm totals across the county varied from .70 at Oceanside to more than half an inch in Alpine, El Cajon, Lemon Grove and National City to only .07 in Fallbrook.

The only local area reporting snow was Mount Laguna, with an inch and a half.

Hastrup said clear skies and a mild Santa Ana condition will be settling into San Diego today, the first day of winter.

Chilly air also accompanied Saturday’s storm. The high temperature at Lindbergh Field was 59 degrees, just three degrees shy of the coldest Dec. 20 high on record, Hastrup said.

“In eight different years, we’ve had 56 as the high temperature on Dec. 20,” Hastrup said. “The last time this was the case was in 1968.”

The only reported street closure due to flooding was Quarry Road between Lakeview Avenue and Swap Meet Road in the South Bay area, according to a spokeswoman with the County Emergency Operations Center. She said it had been reopened by late afternoon.

San Diego Gas & Electric spokeswoman Stephanie Smith said there were reports of minor power outages but power was restored by midafternoon.

“We’ve been pretty busy since about 4 a.m.,” Smith said. “We didn’t get any major outages, but we got zillions of small ones. Most were because of transformers being hit by lightning or winds blowing down lines.”

The cold upper-level low that caused Saturday’s storm had moved into northwestern Mexico by early evening, Hastrup said. Slightly warmer days are expected, but nighttime temperatures are expected to cool off again as clouds move out of the area.

High surf is again expected today, with waves averaging from three to six feet with occasional seven-foot breakers, Hastrup said. The surf should start slowly decreasing Monday. Highs at the beaches today will be in the upper 60s with lows in the mid-40s. The ocean temperature is near 61.

Inland highs will be near 70, and overnight lows will be 35 to 45.