SAN DIEGO — A blustery late-autumn storm drenched the San Diego area with wind-whipped downpours Tuesday, delivering the first significant local rainfall in months amid flooded roadways, toppled trees and widespread power outages.
The cloudbursts began soaking the region several hours before daybreak, starting in its northern reaches and moving rapidly south, according to the National Weather Service.
By late afternoon, when the heaviest rains generated by the unsettled atmospheric system out of the north were tapering off, communities across the county had gotten anywhere from a few hundredths of an inch to more than 4 1/3 inches of moisture, the federal agency reported.
As the gusty winds howled through the San Diego County, power outages left thousands of San Diego Gas & Electric customers without electrical service, the utility company reported.
A predawn blackout struck San Diego coastal communities, including the Midway district; Ocean Beach, Point Loma and Sunset Cliffs, leaving 3,700 customers in the dark.
In the late morning, a spate of outages left about 10,800 homes and businesses without electrical service across northern San Diego County, according to SDG&E. Affected communities included Bear Valley, Carlsbad, Daley Ranch, the Dixon Lake area, Escondido, Harmony Grove, La Costa, the Lake Hodges area, the Lake Wohlford area, Rancho Santa Fe, San Marcos and Skyline Ranch.
As of 4 p.m., according to the weather service, the bands of dark clouds had dropped 4.36 inches of rain at Palomar Observatory; 2.55 on Boucher Hill; 2.33 at Henshaw Dam; 2.32 on Birch Hill; 2.26 at Rainbow Camp, near the Riverside County line; 2 inches in Skyline Ranch; 1.99 on Mount Woodson; 1.86 in Valley Center; 1.85 in Pine Hills; 1.8 in Deer Springs; 1.75 in Julian; 1.72 on Big Black Mountain and in Mesa Grande; 1.67 at Lake Cuyamaca; 1.66 in Escondido; 1.62 at Lake Wohlford; 1.45 in Fallbrook, Mission Valley and Oceanside; 1.39 in Descanso; 1.29 in Miramar; 1.27 in Carlsbad; 1.25 in La Jolla; 1.15 in Kearny Mesa and National City; 1.1 in Point Loma; 1.07 in University Heights; 1.06 in San Ysidro; and 1.05 in Encinitas and San Marcos.
Other precipitation totals included 0.99 of an inch in Alpine and Lemon Grove; 0.97 at San Diego International Airport; 0.93 at SeaWorld; 0.92 in Elfin Forest; 0.91 at Brown Field airport; 0.89 in the Granite Hills area, just east of El Cajon; 0.75 in San Onofre; 0.57 in Del Mar; 0.61 in Ranchita; 0.51 in Campo; 0.45 in Warner Springs; 0.3 in Tierra Del Sol; 0.24 in San Felipe; 0.12 in Oak Grove; 0.08 in Agua Caliente; 0.07 in Canebrake; and 0.03 in Borrego Springs.
The storm brought the first measurable rain to the county since October, when the region experienced some mild showers, weather service meteorologist Phil Gonsalves said.
The drenched roadways across the region led to a spate of traffic headaches for commuters, according to the California Highway Patrol, including a flooded stretch of freeway on state Route 94 near College Grove Drive in the Oak Park district of San Diego, shortly before 1 p.m.; large tumbleweeds in traffic lanes on state Route 905 near Interstate 805 in Otay Mesa during the noon hour; a downed tree across De Luz Road at Green Valley Road in Fallbrook, shortly before 12:30 p.m.; and an errant traffic sign on the roadway on northbound Interstate 5, north of Carlsbad Village Drive in Carlsbad in the early afternoon.
Emergency crews had to free several people from damaged vehicles following collisions on rain-drenched area freeways over the day, and rescued two people who were swept into a surging flood-control channel off Mission Center Road in Mission Valley shortly after 1 p.m., according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
Public works personnel had to remove fallen trees, boulders -- some described as the size of cars -- and wind-blown debris from roadways across the county over the day.
The precipitation was expected to become increasingly light and scattered through the evening before dwindling out completely by midnight, the weather service advised.
Light rain will be a possibility in San Diego County late Thursday into Friday, with dry and slightly warmer conditions expected to prevail through the weekend, forecasters advised.
WATCH RELATED: San Diego storm brings flooding to Tijuana River Valley
School closures
Following the rainstorm, snow started hitting some area mountains. As a result, Julian Union and Julian Union High school districts will be closed Wednesday and have a late start Thursday, the San Diego County Office of Education announced Tuesday night.
"The safety of students and school staff is of the utmost importance to San Diego County school districts," SDCOE wrote in part.
Weather Alerts
Interactive Radar Map | Follow the rain as it moves into San Diego County
High Surf Advisory | Coastal areas:
4AM, Dec 14 - 2PM, Dec 15
Frost Advisory | Inland valleys:
2AM, Dec 15 - 9AM Dec 15
Wind Advisory | Inland valleys, coastal areas:
Through 12AM Dec. 15
High Wind Warning | Deserts, mountains
4AM, Dec 14 – 4AM, Dec 15
Chains required | Palomar Mountain
Chains at 4,800 feet as of Dec 14 at 5PM
For the latest information on the forecast and the weather watches/advisories, download the News 8 app.
Storm Preparedness & Resource Information
- The Get it Done app can help you report blocked storm drains, potholes and broken street lights
- Sign up for Alert San Diego notifications for all your telephone numbers
- Report flooding to the City's emergency dispatch center at 619-527-7500
- Report downed electrical lines or gas emergencies to San Diego Gas & Electric at 800-411-7343
- ReadySanDiego.org has information on how to protect yourself and your property during a flooding situation
For more information on preparing for a storm and what to do during and after the rain, click here to be taken to the City of San Diego’s Storm Preparedness website.
WATCH RELATED: Storm moving down California's coast brings rain to San Diego (Oct. 2021)