San Diego finally got a taste of some much-needed rain as the first of several Pacific storms rolled in on Wednesday — and there’s more on the horizon. A second storm is expected to hit Thursday night and stick around through Friday morning, bringing even heavier showers and a good chance of snow in the mountains.
By the time the storm clears out Friday, coastal and valley areas could see between three-quarters of an inch to over an inch of rain, while the mountains could get one to two inches — maybe even more, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
And it’s not just rain — this is a cold one. Meteorologist Alex Tardy from the NWS said the higher elevations could see up to a foot of snow, with several inches likely above 4,000 feet. If you’re traveling east of Alpine on Interstate 8, you might want to watch out for those snowy conditions. There’s even a chance of snowflakes falling at around 3,500 feet early Friday morning.
On top of the rain and snow, strong winds are expected in the mountain passes, and isolated thunderstorms could pop up Thursday evening. During the heaviest downpours, rain could fall at half an inch per hour, though the risk of flash flooding is expected to stay low.
The weather service warned that roads could get pretty slick, and the strong winds might bring down trees — so drivers should be extra careful during the Thursday morning and evening commutes.
Once the storm moves out, the weekend should stay dry. But don’t get too comfortable — two more storms are lined up for next week, one arriving Monday and another on Wednesday.
It’s a welcome change for San Diego’s dry conditions. The area has been dealing with a major rain deficit, with the San Diego airport only measuring about 1.34 inches of rain since the start of the rainy season on October 1. These upcoming storms won’t fix the drought entirely, but they’ll definitely help.
And there’s a silver lining — all this rain will likely bring a burst of green vegetation across the region, especially in the backcountry. So while seasonal rainfall remains way below average, the landscape should start showing some signs of life soon.
