Cars Slip, Slide, Crunch in Winter Drenching; Downpour to Continue

Roads were awash in San Diego County on Friday as a coastal storm dumped nearly an inch of rain, and forecasters predicted more of the same through the weekend, making for hazardous driving.

Since the storm settled along the coast Thursday, the county has been blanketed with fog and gray skies accompanied by an on-again, off-again downpour. The rain caused havoc for commuters Friday, said the California Highway Patrol, which had recorded 30 weather-related accidents by 2 p.m.

“Tons of fender fights today,” CHP spokesman Lloyd Needham said. “And we expect more tonight when the traffic dies down and people start picking up speed.”

The weather will only get bleaker, said Wilber Shigehara of the National Weather Service.

Along with more rain today, Shigehara said, San Diego residents can expect temperatures ranging from 55 to 60 degrees along the coast, dropping to 40 degrees at night. The mercury’s fall will also be matched with gusty winds of 25 m.p.h., Shigehara said. With colder winds sweeping over the mountains, forecasters have issued a snow advisory at altitudes above 4,000 feet.

But Shigehara added that the sun might make a cameo appearance on Sunday.

“There will be some sunshine Sunday, but I wouldn’t count on a picnic,” Shigehara said. The forecast calls for partly cloudly skies with a 30% chance of rain. Some of the weekend rain could come from thundershowers, he added.

Before the storm moves east, it is expected to leave another 0.5 to 1 inch of rain along the coast and as much as 3 inches inland, forecasters said. On Friday, temperatures in San Diego reached a high of 61 degrees and a low of 54; the two-day rain total was 0.97 of an inch at Lindbergh Field.

Meanwhile, slippery roads led to minor traffic accidents, which were eclipsed by a six-car pileup on southbound Interstate 5 that left a Carlsbad man critically injured.

Jesus Bentacourt, 32, was sent to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla after he lost control of his vehicle just south of the Birmingham Drive exit shortly before 10 a.m. Bentacourt, who was driving in the far left-hand lane, swerved across the freeway into the slower lanes, where five cars slammed into his vehicle.

Bentacourt, who suffered a broken neck in the accident, was in critical condition Friday, said Michael Dabney, a hospital spokesman.

Oceanside police spokesman Bob George reported 20 weather-related collisions Thursday. The most serious one involved a felony hit-and-run on Oceanside Boulevard, near Crouch Street, that left a driver, Matthew Sullivan, in serious condition at a local hospital.

Two people were killed Friday evening on westbound Interstate 8, west of Crestwood. Further details about the accident were not available.

“As long as it keeps pouring, we’ll keep having accidents,” George said.

Despite strong winds, only five power outages were reported as of Friday night by San Diego Gas & Electric.

“If the wind picks up again like last week, I’m sure we’ll have more problems,” said Fred Vaughn, a spokesman for the utility. He said Friday’s power outages cut service to 10,000 customers, whereas last week’s storm inconvenienced nearly 70,000 customers.

The wet weather may dishearten Christmas shoppers, but snow lovers have something to smile about, Shigehara said. As much as 2 inches has fallen on San Diego County mountains at altitudes of 5,000 feet and above.

Even desert areas will be not be spared, Shigehara said. They run a 30% chance of rain, which may be accompanied by gusty winds of nearly 30 m.p.h.

By Monday, residents can expect drier weather as the storm heads for its next destination: Arizona.

“It will be back to partly cloudy, and maybe it will be a little warmer,” Shigehara said.