Rainy Days Break Records, Cause Crashes

A wintry storm brought a second consecutive day of driving downpours and mountain snowfall to the San Diego area Tuesday.

In a continuation of the blustery climate that arrived Monday, the banks of dark clouds drenched and froze the county Tuesday morning and afternoon before beginning to dissipate in the evening, according to the National Weather Service.

By 5:30 p.m., the two-day spate of wet and frosty conditions had delivered 1.28 inches of precipitation at McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad; 1.23 inches in Potrero; 1.14 in Encinitas; 1.05 in San Marcos; 1.05 in Campo; 1.02 in Vista; 1.01 in Escondido; and 0.99 in Alpine.

The cloudbursts dropped 0.95 of an inch of rain in National City and Rancho San Diego; 0.91 in La Mesa; 0.86 in Fallbrook; 0.84 in Chula Vista; 0.83 in Oceanside; 0.8 at Lindbergh Field in San Diego; 0.77 in Valley Center; 0.69 in Poway; 0.67 in the Miramar area; 0.59 in Rancho Bernardo; 0.58 at Montgomery Field in Serra Mesa; and 0.54 in Ramona.

The late-autumn storm also left behind a 14-inch-deep blanket of snow on Mount Laguna, and nine inches on Palomar Mountain, the weather service reported.

The chilly atmospheric pattern also set a number of records across the county for lowest maximum temperature for Dec. 13, the NWS reported. Those readings ranged from the low 40s in the East County to the mid-50s along the coast.

The inclement weather, meanwhile, created typical traffic troubles on the region's commuter routes. Between midnight and 6 p.m., the CHP logged 130 collisions, including one that resulted in a fatality, on San Diego County freeways and rural roads. By comparison, the state agency generally responds to 50-75 crashes across the county over a full day of fair weather.

Wednesday should bring mostly clear skies and continued cool temperatures across the San Diego area, meteorologist Jamie Moker said.

That respite from clouds will likely prove fleeting, however, as another storm system is expected to arrive Thursday evening, carrying the potential for scattered showers and more snowfall in the loftiest reaches of the East County, according to Moker.

-City News Service