We were warned today would be San Diego’s coldest day of the year and it’s already hailing in parts of the city and county.
And it’s snowing in our local mountains – like at Mt Laguna, Lake Cuyamaca and the town of Julian. These screen captures of the live cams were taken at 10:30 this morning.
Light snow is falling on Interstate 8 east of Alpine and could become heavier as cold, unstable air from an Alaskan storm continues to pass through San Diego County, the National Weather Service said.
The system also has dropped 4 inches of snow on Palomar Mountain and produced hail in La Jolla and Encinitas. Forecasters said conditions will likely grow worse through at least 1 p.m. Friday because the cold core of the storm has reached land.
Thunderstorms are possible throughout the county, and some could produce tremendous gusts of wind. The storm has already generated gusts in the 30-to-40-mph range in East County, including on I-8.
Scattered rain also has fallen. Here is a sample of precipitation totals through 9:30 a.m.: Pinr Hills, 0.59 inches; Descansco, 0.52 inches; Alpine, 0.42 inches; Otay Mountain, 0.35 inches; San Diego Country Estates, 0.29 inches; Julian, 0.28 inches; Mt. Woodson, 0.28 inches; Valley Center, 0.27 inches; Bonsall, 0.26 inches; Encinitas, 0.18 inches; Vista, 0.17 inches; San Marcos, 0.15 inches; National City, 0.15 inches; Oceanside, 0.13 inches; San Diego International Airport, 0.03 inches;
Forecasters said that Friday could turn out to be the coldest day in San Diego since March 1, 2023, when the high was 58 degrees. Most of the county will be 10 to 15 degrees colder than normal Friday, and that Saturday and Sunday will be only marginally warmer.
