Winter is living up to its billing -- even in San Diego.
Rain started falling in Oceanside around 8 a.m., and downtown San Diego should see some sprinkles or light showers by 9 a.m. The day should be wet, and a blustery, wet night will follow, with gusty winds and off-and-on showers.
High winds brought down a tree in College Grove near the mall on Monday afternoon. The ficus tree blocked two lanes of traffic when it came down, but nobody was injured by it. City workers arrived quickly and cleared the roadway.
Heavy rain was reported in the southern portion of the county, especially down in the Tijuana River Valley where flooding last week drowned three horses.
San Diegans can expect between 1/4 and 1/3 of an inch of rain near the coast, with 1/2 inch or so inland and up to 1 inch in the mountains below 5,000 feet. Snow should fall above that elevation, continuing in to midday on Tuesday. Up to 4 inches is expected near the tops of Mount Laguna and Palomar Mountain.
A second, colder storm is expected on Wednesday. The area should get a little more rain out it and a bit more snow in the mountains. A third cold front may roll in late Thursday, then move out quickly on Friday, making for a drier, sunnier and warmer weekend, much like this past weekend. High temperatures will remain in the 50s and low 60s through Saturday. Overnight lows will be in the 30s, 40s and mid-50s.
Local travel will be hazardous at time, especially in and through the mountains later on Monday, early Tuesday, late Wednesday and pretty much all of Christmas Day. Heavy showers and snow will impact Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles, Interstate 8 east of San Diego and Interstate 15 over the Cajon Pass on the way to Las Vegas. Delays are also expected at Lindbergh Field throughout the week due to bad weather here and across the country.
At the airport, travelers faced long lines Monday morning with dozens of delays and cancellations due to weather conditions across the country. Read article here.
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