A cold low pressure system brought a second consecutive day of rain and snow to San Diego County today but was expected to clear out by this evening.
According to the National Weather Service, showers today will be scattered, with isolated thunderstorms along the coast and heavy snowfall possible in the mountains and upper deserts. Showers will decrease in intensity through early this afternoon as the cold front moves southeast into northern Baja, the agency said.
A winter storm warning issued late Monday morning remains in effect until 2 p.m. for areas above 5,000 feet.
On Monday, seven inches of snow fell on Palomar Mountain and two inches fell on Mount Laguna. An additional three to five inches of snowfall is possible in the mountains today, according to the Weather Service.
As of Monday night, the storm had dropped 1.11 inches of rain at McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad; 0.47 at Marine Corps Air Station
Miramar; 0.47 at Lindbergh Field in downtown San Diego; 0.75 in National City; 0.96 in Escondido; 0.73 in La Mesa; 0.56 in Alpine; 0.59 in Julian; 0.73 in Descanso; and 0.25 in Borrego Springs.
There were 222 crashes reported on the county's rain-slicked highways and freeways from midnight to 10 p.m. Monday, according to the California Highway Patrol. The agency typically records 50-75 crashes a day in fair weather.
Among Monday's crashes were at least two fatalities.
A 48-year-old Vista man died when the sedan he was riding in slid across wet pavement and spun into the path of an oncoming van on Interstate 15 at state Route 78 in Escondido, said California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Parent. The crash occurred about 9:40 a.m. and sent two other people to a hospital with injuries, according to Parent.
Another person was killed today when a car rear-ended a big rig on a rain-soaked stretch of Interstate 805 in the South Bay. The northbound sedan crashed into the cargo vehicle near Telegraph Canyon Road in Chula Vista shortly after 10 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
The impact left the auto partially wedged underneath the truck's trailer, the CHP reported. An occupant of the car died at the scene.
The accident left two lanes blocked on the busy freeway, causing heavy traffic backups in the area.
