SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Dry weather is expected to move into San Diego County Tuesday after a series of storms drenched the area and created dangerous conditions on streets and freeways.
A chilly winter storm that arrived in the San Diego area over the weekend delivered steady downpours along with widespread flooding that swamped roadways and neighborhoods across the region.
The National Weather Service said Monday was the fifth wettest day in San Diego since 1850.
In the late morning Monday, with rainfall rates approaching a half-inch per hour, the NWS issued a flash-flood warning for the western valleys and the ocean coastline of the county, effective through midday.
As of 3 p.m., according to the NWS, the top local three-day precipitation totals included 4.51 inches on Otay Mountain, 4.49 in Point Loma, 4.21 in National City, 4.01 in the Palomar area, 3.89 in La Mesa, 3.4 in Fallbrook, 3.39 on Birch Hill and 3.38 on Dulzura Summit.
Most other locales in the county received from 1 to 3.5 inches of moisture over the period, meteorologists reported.
Some schools will close on Tuesday, including:
-- Schools in the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District
-- KIPP Adelante Preparatory Academy
-- America's Finest Charter School high school campus
-- Harriet Tubman Village Charter school
-- SOUL Academy
During the morning and afternoon on Monday, the driving rains inundated streets, freeways and back roads across the region, according to the California Highway Patrol. Between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., the CHP reported the following traffic disruptions in the San Diego area:
-- Trees and rocks in the roadway at Jamul Heights Drive and Steele Canyon Road, Jamul
-- Flooding, 12100 block of Cuyamaca College Drive and at Fury Lane and Wieghorst Way, Rancho San Diego
-- Mudslide, eastbound Barrett School Road, Barrett Junction
-- Landslide, transition ramp from eastbound state Route 905 to northbound Interstate 805, Otay Mesa
-- Flooding, Jamacha Boulevard and Whitestone Road, and SR-125 at Jamacha and Paradise Valley roads, Spring Valley
-- Flooding, Kempton and Outinda streets, La Presa
-- Flooding, SR-15 at Interstate 5, Southcrest
-- Flooding, westbound Interstate 8 at College Avenue and Waring Road, Del Cerro
-- Flooding, northbound I-5 at 28th and 32nd streets, Logan Heights
-- Flooding, Carmel Valley Road and Winesprings Drive, 4S Ranch
-- Flooding, 9000 block of Harmony Grove Road, Elfin Forest
-- Flooding, westbound SR-94 at I-805, Mount Hope
-- Flooding, southbound I-805 near Imperial Avenue, Mountain View
-- Flooding, southbound I-5 near Via de la Valle, Del Mar
-- Mudslide, offramp from northbound I-805 to Imperial Avenue, Lincoln Park
-- Flooding, offramp from southbound SR-163 to Ash Street, East Village
-- Flooding, Palomar Airport Road onramp to northbound I-5, Carlsbad
-- Flooding, northbound I-805 at East Palomar Street, Chula Vista
-- Flooding, westbound SR-94 at College Avenue, Oak Park
-- Flooding, northbound I-5 at Pershing Drive, Balboa Park
-- Mudslide, Lyons Valley Road at Skyline Truck Trail, Jamul
-- Mudslide, 9500 block of Date Street, Spring Valley
-- Flooding, I-805 at SR-94, Fairmount Park
-- Mud and rocks in the roadway, southbound I-5 at Balboa Avenue, Pacific Beach
Crews with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department performed about 25 rescues Monday in the San Diego and Tijuana River valleys, along with vehicle rescues in various neighborhoods, according to the city agency. They also used inflatable boats and rescue boards to help hundreds of residents escape badly flooded homes along Beta Street and surrounding roads in Southcrest, according to SDFRD public affairs.
In addition, firefighters and U.S. Border Patrol agents rescued a group of migrants who had entered the country illegally and gotten trapped in floodwaters in San Ysidro, the federal agency reported.
Mayor Todd Gloria declared an emergency in the city due to heavy rainfall and flash flooding.
The county of San Diego proclaimed on Monday a local emergency on behalf of the Board of Supervisors.
The Red Cross of San Diego and Imperial counties opened an overnight emergency shelter at Lincoln High School, 4777 Imperial Ave., for residents impacted by flooding and storm damage. The group also opened a shelter at Bostonia Recreation Center at 1049 Bostonia St. in El Cajon and the city of Coronado opened a shelter at Coronado Community Center, 1845 Strand Way.
The city of San Diego opened a temporary shelter at the Golden Hill Recreation Center, 2600 Golf Course Drive.
Due to flooding, San Diego was temporarily relocating people staying at the city's 16th and Newton Bridge Shelter to the Balboa Park Activity Center, and some residents at the 20th & B Safe Sleeping site to Golden Hall.
As of mid-afternoon, more than two dozen power outages had hit communities from the South Bay to the North County, at least some of them related to the inclement weather, according to San Diego Gas & Electric. In Lincoln Park, Logan Heights and Mountain View, blackouts left more than 9,000 addresses without electrical service in the late morning and early afternoon.
Due to potential storm-related utility problems, SDG&E issued a statement Monday morning urging the public to stay away from any downed or otherwise damaged power lines they might encounter. People should always assume that such compromised transmission equipment is energized and call 911 to report the hazard, the utility advised.
The showers were expected to diminish over the course of the evening and dwindle away completely from north to south on Tuesday, according to meteorologists. Thereafter, local temperatures should remain cool through Thursday, then warm up Friday and Sunday as high pressure aloft strengthens along the West Coast, the weather service reported.
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