Storm Drops Rain, Fresh Snow as Cold Sets Record in County

Abiting winter’s eve storm barreling in Thursday from the Canadian Yukon brought snow, rain and record cold to the county, triggering treacherous road conditions that closed part of Interstate 8 and made snow chains necessary in the mountains and foothills.

The high temperature at Lindbergh Field Thursday was 55, the lowest high for Dec. 20 since the National Weather Service starting keeping track in 1872.

And, although the rain is expected to move on today, it will be replaced by increasingly cold temperatures for the next several days, starting with a frost advisory tonight. Clouds may return on Christmas Day as a second storm moves in.

The cold Thursday prompted the county to open emergency shelters for the homeless at the National Guard armories in Vista and El Cajon, where temperatures were expected to plunge into the mid-20s Thursday night.

Less than a quarter inch of rain dropped on the county, but snow fell at 1,800 feet, dusting the fields of Valley Center, said Wilbur Shigehara, senior meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

At Mt. Laguna, a foot of snow fell, leaving drifts as high as 3 feet. In Julian, 3 1/2 inches of snow fell, and 6 inches dropped on Cuyamaca Park.

In the coldest mountain areas Thursday, strong winds and cold air combined to create a wind chill factor of minus 20 degrees, Shigehara said.

Icy roads on westbound I-8 just east of Sunrise Highway caused an 18-wheel tanker-truck to overturn, spilling its 4,000 gallon-load of oil, said John Marinez, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.

The driver was not hurt in the single-vehicle accident, but the slippery combination of ice and oil prompted the CHP to close the westbound lanes of I-8 at 11:15 a.m., he said.

I-8 remained closed from Sunrise Highway to Pine Valley until about 5:30 p.m. because of snow and ice, a CHP spokeswoman said. Traffic was rerouted to Old Highway 80 until the freeway reopened, she said.

The CHP also responded to 61 minor traffic accidents that were caused by rain-slicked freeways between 6 a.m. and noon, Marinez said. No one was hurt in the fender benders, and there were no significant traffic delays, he said.

Motorists traveling to the mountains were required to use chains or snow tires, Marinez said. As of 9 a.m., chains were necessary on California 78 from Santa Ysabel to Julian, on California 79 at Camp Cuyamaca, and on Palomar Mountain.

Winds of more than 40 m.p.h. that whipped tree branches into power lines were also responsible for many outages countywide, San Diego Gas & Electric reported. About 23,800 customers in North County were without electricity for short periods between midnight and noon Thursday, said company spokesman Dave Smith.

A wind advisory, a winter storm watch and a small craft advisory--all issued Wednesday night when winds were gusting at 40 m.p.h. and snow was falling in the mountains--will be terminated today as the storm moves out of San Diego, Shigehara said. However, Shigehara said, he will issue a frost advisory tonight and expects it to last at least through the weekend as temperatures steadily drop.

“We are going to see widespread frost everywhere this weekend, even in the beach communities like Point Loma, Del Mar and La Jolla,” Shigehara said. “We aren’t going to see anything near 60 degrees,” he said of the daytime temperatures.

The forecast for the holiday weekend calls for dry, cold conditions, Shigehara said. Days will be sunny, but clouds may return Christmas Day as a second storm moves in, he said.

Beach highs through Sunday will be in the low to mid 50s. The ocean water temperature is 60 and the surf is at 2 to 4 feet.

Coastal and inland highs today through Sunday will range from 53 to 58, Shigehara said. Coastal lows will drop into the low 30s tonight and Saturday, and inland lows will fall to the middle 20s.

Mountain highs will be near freezing, in the upper 20s, through Sunday, and overnight lows will range from 15 to 25 degrees, Shigehara said. In some of the colder mountain areas, the mercury could dip to 12 degrees at night, he said.

Desert highs will range in the mid 50s, and overnight lows this weekend will be from 26 tod 35.