Leftover moisture from Hurricane Norbert heading to San Diego

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Thunderstorms triggered by Tropical Storm Norbert moved across San Diego County’s backcountry today.

The NWS issued a flash flood warning at 1:34 p.m. Sunday and said a large thunderstorm was building near Boulevard, about 55 miles east of San Diego. The agency said the mountain communities of Live Oak Springs, Tierra Del Sol, Boulevard, Jacumba and Interstate 8 near those towns would be under the flash flood warning until 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

The mountain and desert communities of Julian, Pine Valley, Ramona, Banner, Cuyamaca Peak, Descanso, Dulzura, Mount Laguna, Pauma Valley, Santa Ysabel and Warner Springs were under a flash flood advisory until 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

The rest of the county’s mountains and deserts were under a flash flood watch that started at 10 a.m. Sunday and was set to expire Monday evening. San Diego County valley’s were under a flash flood watch until Sunday night in the evening.

Stronger storms hit just northeast of Palomar Mountain, in the mountains of Riverside County. Route 74 was flooded between Hemet and Mountain Center, and the mountain resort of Idyllwild was soaked.

Minor street and freeway flooding bedeviled the City of Riverside, and one dwelling lost its roof as heavy winds and a soaking rainstorm hit just after 2 p.m. northeast of downtown.

These storms were triggered by the leftover moisture and energy from Tropical Storm Norbert, a storm that was a Category 3 hurricane on Friday before weakening over cooler waters as it moved north towards the the Pacific coast of Baja California today, the NWS said.

San Diego County was spared from the worst of the storms though as rain battered Riverside County, causing flooding and damage and leaving roadways a mess.

Tropical Storm Norbert also sent elevated surf to south-facing beaches  Sunday and all county beaches remained under a beach hazard as large swells and tidal swings were causing strong and dangerous rip and long shore currents.