A powerful storm system that had slowly moved into San Diego County finally arrived Friday with heavy thunderstorms overnight, causing some flooding and prompting at least one rescue while much of San Diego slept.
A thunderstorm occurred in the middle of the night, causing lightning and heavy rain in most parts of the district, especially along the coast. The National Weather Service recorded 31 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in San Diego County and more than 130 lightning strikes in coastal waters.
Although the brunt of the system hit San Diego overnight, some scattered showers could continue throughout the day Friday.
“As of 3:30 a.m., we're going to be pretty dry. Most of the overnight rain we're going to get out of this storm system,” NBC 7's Meteorologist Sheena Parveen said.
The city of San Diego has spent the past several days preparing for this part of the storm by closing streets that could be affected by flooding. Several streets were closed in the Mission Valley areaAnd some near Fashion Valley were closed Friday afternoon.
A woman and her dog were rescued from a storm drain in El Cajon early Friday after being caught in floodwaters. Heartland Fire told NBC 7 the woman was taken to a local hospital. Her condition is unknown.
In Carlsbad, two roads were temporarily closed overnight due to “multiple road hazards from the storm,” Carlsbad police said. By 5:45 am the roads were opened for the morning commute.
Although most of the rain has passed, some streets and areas near rivers may still experience flooding. A flood watch remained in effect until Friday afternoon.
The storm system started out mild, with scattered showers on Tuesday and Wednesday. Heavy rain and isolated thunderstorms lashed the region late Thursday.
According to the National Weather Service, some areas such as Point Loma received 0.63 inches of rain and Shelter Island received 0.64 inches overnight.
Parveen said the storm has yet to fully exit San Diego County, and some scattered showers and possible thunderstorms are expected throughout the afternoon and temperatures will remain cool.
As we head into the Christmas Eve weekend, expect Sunday to be dry and a bit cooler at night, with highs in the 40s along the coast, Parveen said. On Christmas Day, highs along the coast will be in the upper 60s and mostly sunny.
