Rain Leaves Wet Imprint in Its Wake

A brief, volatile storm Monday morning left thousands of San Diegans without electricity, caused numerous traffic problems and dumped almost a half inch of rain on the county before moving east.

The rains arrived just as most San Diegans were beginning their workday, causing as many as 80 fender-benders on area freeways between 6 and 10 a.m., the California Highway Patrol said.

The biggest accident occurred on Interstate 5, at Via de la Valle, when one car spun out and caused 10 other vehicles to slam into each other. Six unidentified people were injured and taken to area hospitals, but none were seriously hurt.

‘Driving Goes to Pot’

“It happens every time it rains,” said CHP spokesman John Clark. “People’s driving goes to pot.”

Because of the high number of traffic snarls, it took police and CHP officers as long as two hours to respond to some accidents.

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. said that about 30,000 customers lost electricity Monday morning. Most of the outages, which spread from San Clemente to Otay Mesa, were caused by tree branches falling on power lines. With the exception of a few isolated incidents, all power was restored by 12:30 p.m.

The storm brought the first measurable precipitation since the rainy season began in July. Palomar Mountain had the heaviest rainfall--1.65 inches were recorded by the National Weather Service. Cuyamaca came in a close second with 1.25 inches.

A half inch of rain was recorded at San Diego State University, with Lindbergh Field, Poway, the Wild Animal Park, Alpine and National City following close behind.

“This is the most rain we’ve had all season,” said forecaster Frank Perdue. “It’s very, very respectable, but if you compare it to normal, we’re about half an inch below for the whole month of November.”

Winds whipping up to 34 m.p.h. prompted a small-craft advisory and a wind advisory for the mountains Monday night, Perdue said. Both advisories were expected to be dropped this morning.

A snow advisory in the mountains that went into effect Sunday was dropped Monday afternoon. The abrupt storm was caused by a cold front moving down the coast from the northwest, Perdue said. By late Monday night, however, the weather pattern had almost completely left the county, making its way toward Arizona.

Warmer days with sunny skies and cooler nights are forecast through Thursday, Perdue said. “There’s a slight chance of rain Thursday, but it could miss us to the north,” he said.

Coastal highs today will be 65 to 72 and 67 to 74 on Wednesday. Overnight lows will be in the low 50s.

The ocean is 61 degrees. The surf is 2 to 5 feet.

High temperatures inland will be similar to those on the coast, ranging in the upper 60s to low 70s. The lows will be 38 to 46 tonight and Wednesday night.

The gusty winds in the mountains will decrease this morning, leaving fair conditions through Wednesday. Mountain highs today will be 47 to 55, and 50 to 58 on Wednesday. Overnight lows will be 26 to 36.

The snow level is near 6,000 feet.

The deserts also will have fair weather, Perdue said. The highs today will be 66 to 74, and 70 to 78 Wednesday. Overnight lows will be in the low to mid-40s.