Weather Grab Bag Dumps Out Surprises

Snow in the mountains, hail in the South Bay and a biting cold rain everywhere else prompted officials Wednesday to open emergency shelters for the homeless, issue traveler’s advisories and close schools.

The California Highway Patrol also reported several minor traffic accidents caused by rain-slicked roads. Two power outages triggered by lightning strikes were also blamed on the intense storm from the Gulf of Alaska.

More than a foot of snow fell on local mountains Wednesday, and about half an inch of rain doused Lindbergh Field, said National Weather Service forecaster Wilbur Shigehara. A heavy hailstorm pelted Chula Vista about 8 a.m. and another blanketed the top of Mt. Helix before noon, he said.

“Mt. Laguna got 14 inches of snow and took the prize,” Shigehara said. “Cuyamaca had 10 inches, Julian had 7 1/2, and Mt. Palomar had 9 inches.

“With this storm, we’ve gotten reports of snow, hail, funnel clouds, waterspouts, and very, very cold temperatures. We’ll be on the very fringe of the storm by Thursday, and we should see more sunshine, but nothing would surprise me at this point.”

The storm will begin slowly moving east today, leaving partly cloudy skies and a 20% chance of lingering showers in its wake, Shigehara said.

The California Highway Patrol on Wednesday also enacted a traveler’s advisory that required all vehicles going beyond the 2,000-foot level to have tire chains. This includes Sunrise Highway through Mt. Laguna, Highway 79 through Cuyamaca, and Highway 78 through Julian, a CHP spokesman said. The advisory is expected to last through Thursday, he said.

Schools in Julian and the Mountain Empire Unified School District were closed Wednesday because of snow-clogged roads.

Temperatures in the mid-30s Wednesday night prompted the County Office of Disaster Preparedness to open emergency shelters for the homeless at the El Cajon and Vista armories.

A power outage occurred in Clairemont late Tuesday night when lightning struck a transformer, said Jesse Flores, a San Diego Gas & Electric spokesman. It took repair crews more than 10 hours to restore power to 200 customers between Clairemont Mesa Boulevard and Diane Place, Flores said.

About 3,800 people in Kearny Mesa were without power Wednesday morning when lightning struck a utility pole about 9:30 a.m. in the 4000 block of Ashford Street, Flores said. Repair crews restored power an hour later, he said.

As the storm makes its way toward Arizona today, temperatures will warm several degrees and some sunshine will peep through the lingering clouds, Shigehara said. Friday calls for more warming and drying.

High temperatures today countywide will be 55 to 60 degrees, Shigehara said. Coastal lows tonight and Friday night will be 35 to 45 degrees. Thursday night, there may be frost on the car windshields in Del Mar, he said.

Lows for the inland areas will be 31 to 41 degrees tonight and Friday night, Shigehara said. For the coldest agricultural areas, lows may dip into the upper 20s, he said.

Highs in the mountains will struggle to get past the mid-30s today and Friday, Shigehara said. Overnight lows will be 17 to 27 degrees tonight and Friday.

There may be isolated showers in the deserts today, and highs will be 58 to 65 degrees today and Friday, Shigehara said. Overnight lows will be near freezing, in the low 30s, he said.

The recent storm brought the season rain total to 3.96 inches, Shigehara said. For this time of year, 4.25 inches is considered normal, he said.