Storm May Bring Sigh of Relief to Growers

A storm system that began moving into Southern California on Friday was expected to create a welcome break from the cold weather that has dominated San Diego County for the past several days.

The storm system, which carries a 40% to 50% chance of rain today and Sunday, will be welcomed by the county’s farmers, who spent the latter half of the week attempting to protect their citrus, avocado, flower and strawberry crops from near-record overnight lows.

“There should be no problems for farmers (this weekend) because we’re going to have warmer nights,� said National Weather Service meteorologist Dan Atkin. “The coolest spots will be near 30 degrees, but there should be no need for frost protection.�

It was too early on Friday to determine how badly the week’s cold weather had damaged the crops. Initial inspections suggested that the county’s agricultural areas were spared the kind of frost-related damage that occurred during a long cold spell in 1987.

While there is a good chance of rainfall today and Sunday, the storm will do little to water levels in the county’s reservoirs, Atkin said. “We’re not expecting large rainfalls,� Atkin said. “The main thing is that the rain will keep the nights warmer.�

Atkin said San Diegans will have “highs in the high 50s and lower 60s� on Saturday and Sunday. The snow level will remain at about 4,500 feet, and it will be windy in the mountains and the desert.

In Northern California, warnings of blizzard conditions were issued Friday for travelers heading for the mountains. Winds gusting up to 40 m.p.h. were swirling “very heavy snow� in the Lake Tahoe area.

Snow fell as low as the 1,000-foot level in the Sierra foothills in northern Sacramento County.

Even sled dog races scheduled this weekend in Truckee were postponed because of the blinding snow.

Sierra Pacific Power Co. said an equipment failure cut power to nearly all its customers across northern Nevada and in the eastern Sierra portion of California. An estimated 230,000 homes and businesses were without power.

Spokesman Mike Reed said crews were battling heavy drifts to reach substations, and service was being slowly restored at 4:45 p.m., one hour after the outage began.

Busy Interstate 80 was closed Friday from the Nevada state line west to Auburn, Calif., after snowplow operators said they could not keep up with the rapid accumulation of more than an inch an hour.

Most other Sierra highways were impassable, and chains or snow tires were recommended just to navigate city streets in Reno and Sparks.

Rich Peacock, spokesman for the Reno Cannon International Airport, said about half a dozen airplanes were able to land or depart from the facility early Friday before visibility became too limited for operations to continue.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning in the Owens Valley because of snow and wind.

As the storm moved through the Bay Area, the weather service reported flooded streets in urban areas and warned Monterey residents of heavy rains, winds and possible mud slides.

The state Department of Water Resources, which estimates that California now has about a 50-50 chance of having another “critical� year of subnormal rainfall, welcomed the rain and snow.

“We’re getting a lot of snow in the mountains,� spokesman Don Yoeman said. “It’s a good storm. It’s hard to get a handle on it right now . . . but it’s not going to cure our drought situation.�