UPDATE: 2:00 p.m., Jan. 31, 2019
The National Weather Service issued an urban and small stream flood advisory for San Diego County as rain moved into the region Thursday afternoon. The NWS expects ponding of water on roadways and reminded drivers to "turn around, don't drown" when encountering flooded roads.
An airport weather warning was also issued for San Diego International Airport rom 1:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. due to cloud-to-ground lightning. Thunderstorms with cloud-to-ground lightning will move over or be within five miles of the airport during that time period, according to the NWS, which said the thunderstorms will move out of the area after 3 p.m.
The NWS predicted a half an inch to 1 inch of rain would fall by 5 p.m.
Original story:
The first in a series of three storms is expected to arrive Thursday in San Diego County and bring showers along with a chance of thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service.
The fast-moving storm system sweeping in from the northwest could drop anywhere from a half-inch to three-quarters of an inch of rain in coastal and inland-valley areas while the county mountains will get around three- quarters of an inch and slightly less than a quarter-inch of rain is forecast for the county deserts, NWS forecasters said.
Snow levels will drop to around 7,000 feet.
A few light showers are possible this morning, but the bulk of the precipitation is expected to begin falling this afternoon, meteorologists said. Thunderstorms will be possible late this morning through this afternoon mainly in coastal areas.
The storm system is expected to dissipate by tonight and give way to partly cloudy skies Friday morning.
By Friday night, a more powerful storm will arrive, bringing heavier rainfall throughout the county until Saturday evening, according to the NWS.
For the second storm, coastal and inland-valley areas could see up to 1.25 inches of rainfall with 1.5 to 2 inches expected in the mountains and around a half-inch of rainfall in the deserts, NWS forecasters said.
The final storm cell will reach the region by Sunday morning and bring lighter precipitation throughout the county before leaving the area Monday night.
