Winter storm dumps rain, snow on county

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – A cold storm from Canada saturated San Diego County early Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and snow to the region.

The National Weather Service scheduled a winter storm warning for heavy snow until 10 a.m. for valley, mountain and desert areas, saying the snow level would be around 2,000 feet, though in fact, some areas around 1,000 feet or so received snow Wednesday morning.

A winter storm warning for heavy snow means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Significant amounts of snow can make travel dangerous, the agency said in its warning.

“Several inches of snow will fall in the mountains, and with temperatures well below freezing, roads will be very slick,” the NWS said. “Two to 4 inches of snow could fall at lower elevations … including just east of Alpine.”

The California Highway Patrol overnight reported snow was sticking on Sunrise Highway and the sides of Interstate 8 in the area of Sunrise Highway. There was also heavy snow in Descanso and Crestwood Summit, according to the agency, which responded to an increased number of crash reports throughout the county this morning. Most of the crashes involved minor to no injuries.

The Weather Service also reported a moderate amount of snow in the North County communities of Rainbow, Fallbrook and Valley Center.

In the usually snowy parts of the county, inch counts were quite high. Julian had 9 inches of snow accumulation and Palomar Mountain saw 12 inches, according to the NWS, which said snow showers were likely to taper off from north to south this morning, but slick roads could continue into this afternoon.