Sprinkles to occasional drizzle have fallen in parts of the county today, and the chance for more continues tonight but a lot more rain is coming for the end of the work week. Here's a quick look at what you can expect each day:
- Wednesday: On and off, mostly light rain, which may lead to slow commutes due to wet roads and spotty showers.
- Thursday: Rain will increase in intensity during the day, but will still be on and off, along with a slight chance of thunderstorms.
- 8pm Thursday - 2am Friday: The heaviest and most widespread rain is expected with a slight chance of thunderstorms. Rainfall rates of .50 to .75" per hour are expected.
- Friday: Isolated, mostly light showers
The greatest threat of flooding will be when the heaviest and most widespread rain arrives Thursday night, but localized flooding will be possible before that due to saturation from rain falling since Wednesday. A Flood Watch will be in effect for all areas except the deserts from 10am Thursday until 4am Friday.
It's been a breezy to gusty day with gusts up to 25mph across the county, while the strongest winds have been in the mountains and deserts, where gusts have reached over 40mph and a few over 50mph. A Wind Advisory is in effect for the deserts until 10am Wednesday for these gusty winds.
It will remain breezy to gusty through Thursday with southwest and westerly gusts up to 30mph anywhere in the county and up to 55mph in the mountains and deserts.
Snow levels will be rising during the day on Wednesday and become even higher on Thursday. Only the higher mountains have the chance for a light dusting of snow into early Wednesday which will quickly melt when snow transitions to rain.
Snow levels will hover near 4,500 feet Wednesday morning, rise to 6,500 feet late Wednesday afternoon, and then to 7,500 to 8000 feet late Wednesday night and Thursday. Atmospheric rivers are typically warmer systems, which makes it hard to see snow in the San Diego mountains, which aren't very tall.
Things dry out just in time for the holiday weekend with a mix of sun and clouds and gradual warming. By Sunday temperatures will top out in the mid-60s at the coast, low-70s inland, mid-50s in the mountains and mid-70s in the deserts.
Unfortunately, this week's storm does NOT open the storm door to more rain. It does not look likely for any more storms this month, with the Climate Prediction Center forecasting a 50 to 60% chance of below-normal precipitation. This week's rain will finally end our driest start to the water year on record, though. Since October 1st, San Diego has only received .52" of rainfall; the next driest start was in 2000 at .66", which we'll easily surpass this week.
Wednesday's Highs:
Coast: 56-61°
Inland: 52-59°
Mountains: 40-48°
Deserts: 62-65°
Follow ABC 10News Meteorologist Megan Parry on Facebook at Megan Parry 10News, Instagram @mis_meg_wx and Twitter @10NewsParry.
