Another in a series of December storms hit the San Diego area Tuesday, letting loose with some scattered showers in advance of more widespread precipitation expected later in the week.
The blustery atmospheric system began dousing the region in the morning and continued off-and-on through the day.
By late afternoon, the dark clouds had dropped more than a half-inch of rain in a few East County locales and lesser amounts elsewhere, according to the National Weather Service.
Shortly after 5 p.m., the storm had dropped 0.56 of an inch of moisture in Barona, the Mount Woodson area and Rancho Bernardo; 0.48 in Santee; 0.44 in western Ramona; 0.42 in Point Loma; 0.4 at Lake Cuyamaca; 0.32 at Lindbergh Field; 0.31 in La Mesa; 0.29 in Julian; 0.26 in Del Mar and Descanso; 0.21 in Alpine; 0.2 in Campo; 0.18 on Mount Laguna; 0.16 in Potrero, Poway and Rancho San Diego; 0.12 in Escondido and San Marcos; 0.1 in Valley Center; and 0.05 in Ocotillo Wells.
The drenching ushered in spates of tangled traffic on roadways across the county. Between midnight and 4 p.m., the California Highway Patrol logged 101 collisions, as compared with the 50-75 the agency generally responds to over a full day of dry weather.
Heavier downpours should arrive early Wednesday, along with the first local snowfall of the season in elevations above 5,000 feet, the NWS advised.
Total accumulations up to 4 inches or so are possible, according to meteorologists.
A winter-weather advisory for the higher peaks — including Cuyamaca and Laguna — is scheduled from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday.
The alert is issued when periods of snow are expected to make driving dangerous. During the advisory period, sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph and gusts up to 45 mph also expected in the mountains.
