Storms stacked up to hit San Diego County

By: YVETTE URREA - Staff Writer | Saturday, January 8, 2005 9:34 PM PST ∞

NORTH COUNTY ---- The storm that hit North County on Saturday was the first part of an expected triple whammy with two more to come today and Monday, a National Weather Service forecaster said.

Saturday's rainfall, part of a low-pressure system in the Northwest, was expected to bring 1 to 2 inches in the coastal areas, 1 to 3 inches inland, and 5 to 6 inches in the mountains and foothills, forecaster Noel Isla said.

As of 7 p.m., the Weather Service had reported rainfall totals of about a half-inch for most of the North County during the last 24 hours. Escondido had recorded 0.4 of an inch of rain, Carlsbad recorded 0.47 inches, Oceanside had 0.34 inches, Rancho Bernardo had 0.28 inches and Fallbrook topped the totals with 1.09 inches of rain in the last 24 hours.

Wind, which had been a problem during Friday's storm, downing three large trees in Vista that crushed several cars, was lighter on Saturday. The Weather Service reported that wind speeds averaged 15 to 20 mph for most of the county on Saturday, and said that the same wind speeds could be expected today. Mountain areas, however, saw winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts of up to 50 mph Saturday night.

In general, the storms will build up and hit in the late afternoon through evening and then the next storm starts developing to do the same, he said. The heaviest rainfall will be from afternoon to late evening, Isla said.

"It looks like every 24 hours there's an intense wave of showers," Isla said.

Sunday, the storm is expected to drop 1.3 to 2.25 inches of rain in the coastal and valley areas and 4 to 10.5 inches of rain in the mountains, Weather Service forecaster Brad Doyle said.

Monday's storm will be a bit smaller with just one-tenth to three-quarters of an inch of rain expected on the coast and inland, and 1 to 2 inches in the mountains, he said.

A flash flood watch is to remain in effect on the coast and in the mountains through Tuesday afternoon, he said. Also, there is a coastal flood warning that will expire at 11 a.m. today. A high surf advisory is also in effect until 10 a.m. today. In the mountains, a wind advisory is also in effect that expires at 3:30 a.m. today.

Doyle said there will be a possibility of mudslides and flooding virtually throughout the Southern California area through Monday.

Lindbergh Field had received 11.85 inches of rainfall so far this season, Doyle said. The normal rainfall for this time of year is 3.6 inches of rain, he said.

Not much snow is left in the mountains, only an inch at Palomar Mountain Saturday and it was expected to melt. The new storms probably won't be cold enough to bring more snow, he said.

Saturday a 7-foot high tide caused waves to crash down on Pacific Street and damaged a section of the road that crosses the San Luis Rey River, Oceanside fire Battalion Chief Pete Lawrence said. The road is built on top of the sand but has pipes that run under it, he said.

The waves punched a hole in the road leaving the pipes exposed and started digging out some of the sand that is packed below the road, Lawrence said.

City crews closed the road at 6 a.m. and were working on it until 2 p.m., he said. The crews did extensive work on it and expected it to hold up despite an even higher tide today, Lawrence said. City crews will be keeping an eye on it and any other trouble spots, he said.

Officials warned residents to steer clear of rivers or creekbeds during storms because they can be dangerous. People should not try to walk across anything that is higher than ankle-deep, and motorists should not try to cross anywhere where there is deep water.

"People don't realize the power of moving water," Lawrence said.

The storm caused the San Luis Rey River to rise from its normal 8.5 feet to 10.1 feet Saturday and it's expected to rise another 3.6 feet by Monday, Lawrence said. The flow of the water is normally 1,000 cubic feet per second and it is expected to quadruple by Monday, he said.

"We discourage anybody attempting to ride in the river in order to try to take advantage of the river flow," Lawrence said. "This year especially ---- because the number of trees in the river ---- does not allow people, as in the past, to get on inflatable devices and take a trip down to the ocean. It's dangerous and it's probably going to lead to someone getting hurt or killed."

Further down the coast, most lifeguards said that except for some seasoned surfers, the beaches were fairly empty.

Encinitas lifeguards, who are part of a regional swift-water rescue team, were scouting potential hazardous areas Saturday, lifeguard Lt. Brandon Taylor said.

Earlier, they also discovered a "pretty significant" bluff failure that occurred overnight just south of D Street near Moonlight Beach, Taylor said. Typically, the bluffs are more likely to fail when they dry out but they can also fail if they get too heavy from rainwater.

Taylor said lifeguards discovered another significant bluff failure Wednesday morning. No one was hurt in either case.

He said it was difficult to estimate how much of the bluff fell, but it was enough that lifeguards called out the city engineers to make sure it was stable and to notify property owners above.

Contact staff writer Yvette Urrea at (760) 901-4076 or yurrea@nctimes.com.

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