The Pacific storm that passed through San Diego County on Tuesday and early Wednesday was among the strongest, most widespread systems to hit the region since the rainy season began on Oct. 1.
The system pushed March rainfall at San Diego International Airport to 3.42 inches. The airport averages 1.46 inches for the entire month of March.
San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission requires a deposit to process applications to LAFCO for jurisdictional changes, and the Rainbow Municipal Water District approved an additional deposit amount during the Tuesday, Feb. 28, Rainbow board meeting.
The board’s 5-0 vote approved the additional payment of $32,648.91, bringing the total Rainbow payment to $245,932.10. Rainbow and the Fallbrook Public Utility District are sharing the processing costs.
Record rainfall was reported across San Diego County on Wednesday, with numerous roads closed by flooding.
Oceanside Harbor received a record 4.21 inches, Vista 2.24 inches, Alpine 1.80 inches, Ramona 1.73 inches and Campo 1.17 inches.
Many areas have seen upwards of two inches of rain. The rain has caused sinkholes in Scripps Ranch and Encinitas to grow even bigger.
It’s a race against the rain as Encinitas city workers try to stabilize a growing sinkhole on Lake Drive. Rainfall last Friday totaling 1.3 inches caused the pre-existing sinkhole on Lake Drive to expand.
Patricia Dunlap, who lives nearby said, “It’s getting bigger and bigger with more rains coming. It’s a scary thing.”
As the rainfall figures below show, San Diego County received heavy precipitation overnight and early Wednesday from a Pacific storm that was enhanced by moisture from the sub-tropics. The system also has kicked up 26 mph winds at San Diego International Airport. And it created fog that reduced the carrier Carl Vinson to a silhouette in San Diego Bay.
The National Weather Service said that an additional 0.50 inches to 0.70 inches could fall by Wednesday night.
A 1,000-mile-wide atmospheric river that’s forming in the subtropics will brush San Diego County with light rain Friday and Saturday and bring heavy precipitation to the rest of Southern and Central California, further aiding reservoirs and muting the risk of wildfires, the National Weather Service said on Monday.
The storm is part of a major pattern change that also is expected to produce a second warm, moist atmospheric river that will flow through roughly the same areas on March 14, possibly bringing heavier rain to San Diego, which is experiencing its first wet year in three years.
The heavy winter rains have lowered San Diego County’s drought ranking to the lowest level in nearly two years, and more precipitation might be coming in mid-March.
The U.S. Drought Monitor now lists the region as being “abnormally dry.” The county had been in a “moderate drought” since May 2021. Prior to that, greater San Diego experienced about 18 months of no drought conditions.
Paloma Aguirre will represent San Diego County on the California Coastal Commission with a focus on equitable access to the coast.
The Imperial Beach mayor will serve the remainder of former Commissioner Steve Padilla’s term, which expires May 2025. Padilla, a former Chula Vista council member, is now serving in the Legislature.
The cold, windy Pacific storm that drenched much of San Diego County late Tuesday night and Wednesday pushed seasonal rainfall at San Diego International Airport above average for the first time in three years, according to the National Weather Service.
Through 4 p.m. Wednesday, the airport has recorded 9.86 inches of precipitation since the rainy season began on Oct. 1. The airport averages 9.79 inches between Oct. 1 and Sept. 30.
