Countless San Diego County residents were left with wet feet and cold cheeks Friday by an unusual-for-the-season Alaskan storm that delivered snow, rain, hail, lightning, wind and biting temperatures.
“This feels more like January than April,” said Mark Moede, a forecaster at the National Weather Service.
The weekend will be mostly dry — but it still won’t be a moment to cast aside coats and sweaters. San Diego’s daytime high will be in the low 60s. San Diego International Airport recorded a high of 60, which is 8 degrees below average for this time of year.
The northern jet stream dropped into Southern California on Thursday night and focused much of its energy on greater San Diego on Friday. By dawn, many inland communities had recorded gusts in the range of 30 to 40 mph.
Light snow also began falling on Interstate 8, east of Alpine, drawing a travel advisory from the California Highway Patrol. Palomar Mountain later reported 4 inches of snow and Julian 3 inches.
Hail pelted La Mesa, Allied Gardens, Del Cerro, Encinitas and La Jolla. Lightning erupted in La Mesa, El Cajon, Rancho Santa Fe and Harbison Canyon, forecasters said.
The weather service said that a weak storm could produce showers in the local mountains and inland valleys on Monday afternoon. But it appears that skies will be reasonably clear on Monday morning when a partial eclipse of the sun occurs. The eclipse will begin at 10:03 a.m. and end at 12:23 p.m.
The weather service reported the following rainfall totals through 6 p.m. Friday:
Pine Hills: 1.11 inches
Descanso: 0.88 inches
Julian: 0.84 inches
Henshaw Dam: 0.65 inches
Alpine: 0.58 inches
San Diego Country Estates: 0.58 inches
Lake Cuyamaca: 0.55 inches
Santa Ysabel: 0.54 inches
Miramar: 0.52 inches
Valley Center: 0.51 inches
Campo: 0.51 inches
Volcan: 0.50 inches
Otay Mountain: 0.48 inches
Mt. Woodson: 0.46 inches
La Mesa, 0.41 inches
Volcan: 0.50 inches
La Mesa: 0.39 inches
Lake Wohlford: 0.38 inches
Ramona: 0.33 inches
Montgomery Field: 0.32 inches
Ramona: 0.31 inches
Bonsall: 0.28 inches
Santee: 0.27 inches
Oceanside: 0.25 inches
National City: 0.25 inches
Vista: 0.24 inches
Kearny Mesa: 0.23 inches
Rancho Bernardo: 0.23 inches
Warner Springs: 0.23 inches
Encinitas: 0.21 inches
Poway: 0.20 inches
Escondido: 0.18 inches
San Marcos: 0.16 inches
San Diego International Airport: 0.10 inches
Chula Vista: 0.07 inches
