The May rain storm brought snow to Mount Laguna Friday – and lots of it.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS) and NBC 7 meteorologist Jodi Kodesh, the mountain community about 55 miles east of San Diego County will see between three to seven inches of fresh snow accumulate before 11 p.m.
As of 10 a.m., the NWS said it was 34 degrees in Mount Laguna with snow showers and some thunder possibly on the horizon. Southwest winds were 15 to 20 mph, according to NWS, and would decrease to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. The chance of precipitation was 90 percent.
The NWS said Friday night conditions will remain mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of precipitation. Little or no snow accumulation is expected overnight.
This is the third week in a row that Mount Laguna has experienced snow in May. Last week, another storm left white, fluffy powder on the ground as well and took hikers and visitors by surprise. Luckily, local businesses made visitors feel right at home amid the snow storm.
NBC 7 spoke with one man visiting Mount Laguna from Hawaii who said this was the first time he had ever seen snow. He enjoyed the flurries while wearing shorts and flip flops.
A Carlsbad resident took the day off from work to enjoy the colder weather. He told NBC 7 he brought a cooler to the mountain to fill with snow so he could have a snowball fight at the beach with loved ones over the weekend.
A hiker from Australia told NBC 7 he spent two hours walking in the snow at Mount Laguna.
Meanwhile, Palomar Mountain – which is about 64 miles north of San Diego – also saw rain and some snow on Friday. The NWS expected one to three inches of snow to accumulate there throughout the day, tapering off in the next few hours.
As for rainfall, many parts of San Diego County got some substantial rain Friday. In the last 24 hours, nine of the top 10 highest rainfall totals in all of Southern California recorded by the NWS were in San Diego County. This included rainfall at Lake Cuyamaca, Lindbergh Field and Julian.
