Non-stop overnight rain from the latest in a series of atmospheric river storms to reach San Diego County flooded streets and even freeways, prompted dozens of crashes on rain-slicked roadways and downed trees across the county Wednesday.
By 9 a.m. Wednesday, the storm system dumped two to three inches of rain on some coastal and inland areas and about 4-and-a-half inches of rain on the mountains. The heaviest hit areas appeared to be in the North County where flooding shut down the major thoroughfare state Route 78 in both directions near El Camino Real around 3 a.m. causing traffic delays of an hour or more during the morning commute, according to Caltrans. SR-78 reopened again around 2:30 p.m. and then at around 4 p.m., SR-78 westbound was closed at College Blvd. due to a massive sinkhole. John Franklin, Mayor of Vista, said they expect it to fully reopen in four days.
Caltrans spokesperson Steve Welborn said the freeway flooding was due to a culvert that failed and an emergency repair crew has been called in to fix it. The area was also affected by a foot-deep depression in the roadway. It's not yet clear how that situation was addressed prior to traffic resuming on SR-78.
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Further east on SR-78, the freeway was closed near Banner Store due to a mudslide, according to Caltrans.
The oft-flooded Mission Valley area was once again underwater, prompting city officials to shut down all roadways that cross along the San Diego River. "Do not attempt to drive, walk or ride through standing flood water and please report street flooding to the City's Get It Done app," the city Tweeted.
In North Park, several streets including University Avenue were flooded by feet of rain. Signs were posted to warn drivers of the deluge but many didn't heed the warning. A flood advisory was in effect until 2 p.m. Thursday and the National Weather Service warned drivers to turn around if they encounter flooded roadways. Most rain-related deaths occur due to flooding, the agency said.
Also adding to morning commute woes were downed trees, including some in the mount Soledad and Mount Hope areas. In the Hillcrest area, a toppled eucalyptus tree blocked northbound lanes of SR-163 in the early morning hours. A driver named Simon had just missed the tree coming down. He was stuck in traffic for 30 minutes before a Caltrans pulled the tree to the right-hand shoulder and lanes were reopened.
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It happened "Right before I got here," Simon said. "Five seconds earlier, I'd be dead."
In University Heights, the rain has delayed the repairs needed in Texas Street. Northbound lanes have been closed on and off for about three weeks.
"We've had so many rainstorms come through that they have to pretty much stop the work, cover it up, make sure that everything is secure, and then come back once the storm is over, uncover a thing and then commence work," said Jose Ysea, spokesperson for the city of San Diego's Office of Emergency Services.
California Highway Patrol (CHP) dispatch reported several car crashes across the county, including a deadly crash amid downpours on Interstate 8 in the Pine Valley area at around 7:30 a.m. CHP said the driver, a 61-year-old Yuma resident, was speeding and lost control of his vehicle. the vehicle veered off the right-hand shoulder and rolled over several times before coming to a stop.
A multi-vehicle crash was also reported just before 5 a.m. on northbound 1-15 near Carmel Mountain Ranch. In Kearny Mesa, an ambulance was requested after a vehicle hydroplaned while traveling on westbound SR-52 around 7 a.m. And in Eastlake, emergency personnel responded to a report of a sedan that spun out, overturned and ended up on an embankment off southbound SR-125.
The severity of the injuries suffered by people who were involved in the incidents was not immediately clear.
The same storm system was wreaking havoc to our north. Nearly 27,000 Californians were under evacuation orders Tuesday due to flooding and landslide risks. Power outages hit more than 330,000 utility customers in northern and central areas, the Associated Press reported. The storm caused emergency declarations for 40 counties.
Rain-related problems should subside -- for San Diego County, at least -- as the day progresses. NBC 7's Sheena Parveen said the rain will taper by the afternoon and the storm will pass by Thursday. The dry spell won't last long, though.
More rain is taking aim for San Diego County, with the next chance for an offshore storm possible Friday through this weekend. Mid-next week, yet another storm could make its way to the region and may potentially deliver snow to our mountains.
So far this winter, California has been battered by 10 previous atmospheric rivers — long plumes of moisture from the Pacific Ocean — as well as powerful storms fueled by arctic air that produced blizzard conditions.
