Summer Storm Rattles County, Leaves 1 Man Critically Injured

A man was critically injured when he was hit by lightning Thursday from the strong thunderstorms that moved into San Diego County. The storms also brought heavy rains, mudslides, a small brush fire and several power outages.

Weather radar and satellite photographs showed heavy rain over Palomar Mountain, Warner Springs, Borrego Springs and Mt. Laguna, forecasters for the National Weather Service reported. Some showers also spilled into the city of San Diego, and lightning strikes could be seen above San Diego Bay and the downtown area Thursday night. Mudslides prompted the California Highway Patrol to close sections of California 79 and 76.

A 35-year-old Lakeside man was struck by lightning about 7 p.m. in the 10000 block of Silver Creek Lane, said a dispatcher from the Heartland fire dispatch.

Because of the lightning, he was not able to be airlifted and was taken to Valley Medical Center about 35 minutes later, said Debra Tellstrom, a nursing supervisor.

The man, whose identity was not released, was unconscious when he was admitted and is in critical condition, Tellstrom said. He was taken to the burn center at UC San Diego Medical Center about 9:20 p.m.

Another lightning strike caused a small brush fire at Campo Road and Jamacha Boulevard in Rancho San Diego about 7:05 p.m. It consumed about 1 acre and was under control in 20 minutes, said a dispatcher from Heartland.

Storm-related power outages in Poway, El Cajon, Ramona, Julian, Borrego Springs and Spring Valley affected about 20,000 customers, said Barbara Jarvis, spokeswoman for San Diego Gas & Electric.

The National Weather Service at Lindbergh Field began a watch for heavy rain after a low-pressure front moved onshore Wednesday night, colliding with a high-pressure system, said meteorologist Wilbur Shigehara.

The watch for rain, dangerous lightning strikes, hail as large as three-quarters of an inch and winds up to 55 m.p.h. was issued Thursday for a 70-mile swath on each side of the Colorado River, Shigehara said. Areas under the watch, which ended at 8 p.m., included East San Diego County and parts of Riverside, San Bernardino and Inyo counties, western Arizona and southern Nevada, he said.

The cold air from the low-pressure front collided with warm, moist air brought up from Mexico by the high-pressure system, creating very unstable conditions, Shigehara said.

The low pressure is expected to move east of San Diego today, causing the thunderstorms to subside this weekend, he said.

“I think we’ll dry out over the weekend,” Shigehara said. Over the weekend, another low pressure will approach from the Gulf of Alaska, bringing night and morning clouds, mild temperatures, mostly sunny afternoons and a drying trend, he said.

At the beaches, temperatures will range from 68 to 73 with cloudy and partly cloudy skies, Shigehara said. The ocean temperature is 68 degrees, with the surf rolling in at 1 to 3 feet, he said.

Night and morning clouds in the coastal areas will give way to sunny afternoon skies, Shigehara said. Temperatures will range from 73 to 79 during the day, falling to 58 to 65 at night, he said.

Inland valleys will have partly cloudy to sunny skies with temperatures of 79 to 87, falling to 55 to 63 at night, Shigehara said.

Mountain and desert skies will began clearing this weekend with a chance of afternoon thundershowers through Saturday, Shigehara said. In the mountains, temperatures are expected to rise to 78 to 87 today and Saturday, and fall to 75 to 85 on Sunday, he said.

Nighttime temperatures will range from 55 to 65 today, dropping to 50 to 60 over the weekend, Shigehara said.

The mercury in the deserts will rise to 103 to 108 today and through the weekend, Shigehara said. Nighttime temperatures will hover in the 70s today and 60s over the weekend, he said.