A coastal flood advisory was in effect in the low-lying areas of San Diego's coastline as a winter storm moved ashore Tuesday.
Rain showers were heavy at times through the night and into Wednesday morning.
There is a chance of snow – between .25” to .50” in our local mountains at the 6500-foot elevation, according to NBC 7's Whitney Southwick.
A high wind advisory was also in effect from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday with the strongest winds occurring along the coast in the afternoon or evening. Winds were expected to reach 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph according to the National Weather Service.
Those winds surprised visitors to Oceanside.
"It's pretty gnarly. It's quite cold out there, especially on the end of the pier, it gets quite windy and freezing," said Encinitas resident Trever Seltzer.
Others looked at the palm trees battered by the strong winds with some trepidation.
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"Yeah, they're huge," said Walter Berry, a tourist. "I'm afraid things are going to blow over."
Another concern was the high surf, which could reach the 7-foot level, and the King Tides expected over the next couple of days. Some residents placed sandbags on their properties early this morning in anticipation of the high waters.
The low-lying beaches that are most at risk for flooding include Imperial Beach, south Mission Beach, La Jolla Shores, Cardiff and Oceanside.
The rain caused a mess on local roads. The California Highway Patrol said as of 6 p.m., there were 324 collisions on county freeways Tuesday. On a normal, good weather day, there are about 140.
Winter storm warnings were posted in the Sierra Nevada where the forecast calls for 3 feet of snow on the highest peaks. Snow totals were expected to be around a foot near Lake Tahoe, according to Associated Press reports.
