Blustery Storm Expected Sunday

A winter storm, expected to hit San Diego on Sunday with cold, blustery winds, rain, hail, snow and possible tornadoes, looms like a specter over weekend plans.

Dozens of people trying to firm up travel plans flooded the National Weather Service with worried calls, asking when the storm would hit and how strong it would be, forecaster Dan Atkin said.

“The phone has been ringing steadily all day long,” Atkin said Friday, adding that many callers were college students headed for San Felipe in Baja California for spring break.

A tempest off the Gulf of Alaska could bring storm clouds into the area by noon Sunday and begin dropping rain and snow by early evening, Atkin said.

“It looks like a fairly strong storm, and a cold one, too,” Atkin said. “It will lower the snow level to 1,500 to 2,000 feet by Tuesday.”

An intense low-pressure center is expected to keep the storm over San Diego through Tuesday, he said. He predicted 1 to 2 inches of rain at Lindbergh Field field before it finally moves south.

Meanwhile, snow plows cleared Interstate 8 through Pine Valley by Friday morning, Caltrans spokesman Tom Nipper said, but chains were strongly recommended on mountain roads.

Caltrans workers are bracing for the next storm, which could be a repeat of Thursday’s, when cars followed snowplows to get through the driving snow in the mountains.

Today’s weather is expected to be cool and fair, with increasing high cloudiness in the afternoon. Beach areas will reach 58 to 63 degrees during the day, with 15-m.p.h. sea breezes, Atkin said.

Daytime temperatures for coastal areas and inland valleys will be 62 to 70 degrees. Coastal lows tonight may reach 45, and inland lows may reach 37.