What to know about the heavy rains coming to San Diego County this week
Interstate North shut down from storm damage Photo by Chris Stone Rainfall and thunderstorms are expected throughout San Diego County starting Thursday through the weekend according to the National Weather Organization Meteorologists expect lighter precipitation from Thursday evening into Friday morning with chances of heavier rainfall from later on Friday into Saturday This storm is coming from an atmospheric river a large band of subtropical moisture that s making its way inland and south from directly West of Los Angeles announced Sam Zuber a meteorologist at the San Diego National Weather Amenity station Zuber noted NWS s association of meteorologists saw the storm slow down significantly over time which indicates a good chance of a prolonged storm While a majority of the storm is slow moving she commented there s also a good chance of thunderstorms which move a lot more hurriedly but bring heavy rainfall as the first atmospheric river passes through The thunderstorm thread is pretty wide Zubar announced The entire county will likely be under various kind of thunderstorm threat Friday afternoon timeframe into Saturday There are two storm systems the NWS is as of now monitoring After the first storm passes through on Saturday there s a chance a second system could pop up and continue to bring slight precipitation to the region on Sunday and Monday With every storm system Zubar mentioned it s reliably the mountains that see the majority of rainfall NWS indicates an increased exposure of minor flooding particularly in areas with current burn scars from fires In anticipation of this the County and Cal Fire are providing free bags and or sand for residents of unincorporated areas People interested in grabbing these supplies from their local fire station should call ahead of time to double-check availability and bring a shovel to fill their bags as chosen stations may have a limited supply Here is a list of stations offering sand and bags Bonita Bonita-Sunnyside Fire Station Bonita Road Bonita CA P - - De Luz De Luz Fire Station De Luz Road Fallbrook CA P - - Dulzura Dulzura Fire Station Highway Dulzura CA P - - Fallbrook Pala Mesa Fire Station Pala Mesa Drive Fallbrook CA P - - Julian Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Station Hwy Julian CA P - - Palomar Mountain Palomar Mountain Fire Station Crestline Road Palomar Mtn CA P - - Potrero Potrero Fire Station Highway Potrero CA P - - Ramona Ramona Fire Station San Vicente Road Ramona CA P - - Ramona Ramona Fire Station Dye Road Ramona CA P - - Rincon Rincon Fire Station Highway Pauma Valley CA P - - Valley Center Valley Center Fire Station N Lake Wohlford Road Valley Center CA P - - Warner Springs Sunshine Summit Fire Station Highway Warner Springs CA P - - Here are the stations offering bags only Alpine Alpine Fire Station Tavern Road Alpine CA P - - Borrego Springs Ocotillo Wells Fire Station Highway Borrego Springs CA P - - Borrego Springs Borrego Springs Station Stirrup Road Borrego Springs CA P - - Boulevard Boulevard Fire Station Ribbonwood Road Boulevard CA P - - Campo Campo Fire Station Highway Campo CA P - - Campo Lake Morena Fire Station Oak Drive Campo CA P - - Descanso Descanso Fire Station Viejas Grade Road Descanso CA P - - El Cajon Harbison Canyon Fire Station Harbison Canyon Road El Cajon CA P - - Escondido Deer Springs Fire Station Circle R Drive Escondido CA P - - Escondido Miller Fire Station W Lilac Road Escondido CA P - - Flinn Springs Flinn Springs Fire Station Flynn Springs Road El Cajon CA P - - Jacumba Jacumba Fire Station Jacumba St Jacumba CA P - - Jamul Jamul Fire Station Peaceful Valley Ranch Jamul CA P - - Jamul Deerhorn Fire Station Honeysprings Road Jamul CA P - - Julian Shelter Valley Fire Station Great Southern Overland Julian CA P - - Laguna Mt Laguna Fire Station Mt Laguna Drive Mt Laguna CA P - - Pine Valley Pine Valley Fire Station Old Highway Pine Valley CA P - - Ranchita Ranchita Fire Station Montezuma Valley Road Ranchita CA P - - Ramona Intermountain Fire Station Highway Ramona CA P - - San Pasqual San Pasqual Fire Station San Pasqual Valley Road Escondido CA P - - Warner Springs Warner Springs Fire Station Highway Warner Springs CA P - - The city of San Diego offers bags only at one recreation center located in each city council district See that list here Once the storm has made its way into town remember to statement broken street lights and blocked storm drains through the Get it Done app and description downed electrical lines to San Diego Gas and Electric For more information visit the City of San Diego s Storm Preparedness website
