“For an unfortunate few, last weeks severe weather made a routine commute down I-5 risky business”
‘America’s Finest City’ donned her best storm weather gear this past week and braved tornadoes, hail, flash flooding, mudslides, thunder, and gale force winds. “Some of the worst weather since the mid nineties,” some said.
At the best surf breaks, there was not a wetsuit in sight. Joggers & cyclists abandoned Highway 101 and left the roads to their heavy metal friends. No dogs frolicked at Dog Beach, no humans strolled the boardwalk at Mission Beach… [Probably because most of the coastal streets in Mission Beach were flooded.] Ocean Beach pier shut down when massive waves began to crash over the top of the piers rails. SeaWorld shut down. Power outages shut whole neighborhoods down.
“Pelicans flew between cars traveling Hwy 101 near Cardiff Beach, battling winds that would allow a human to lean forward – and not fall over”
Last Tuesday, the National Weather Service in San Diego issued county-wide tornado warnings. [TORNADO!!? San Diego doesn't get tornadoes. Right?] A tornado was spotted off Seal Beach, along with several water spouts off shore.
On Wednesday, the coastal cities of Ocean Beach, Mission Beach and Pacific beach were issued numerous flash-flood watches and high-surf alerts that would continue throughout the week. Further down south, storm drains coughed and sputtered. Refusing the excess water, they took pleasure in shooting it out and up into the air, like miniature toxic geyser spouts…
Flash flood warnings became a reality…
Coastal flooding was caused by a combination of high surf [15- to 20-foot breakers] strong south-to-southwest winds [gusts greater than 50 miles per hour] overland runoff from heavy rains, and high tides just under 5 feet – according to the Weather Service. “A perfect storm,” some said. With a high surf advisory running through late Sunday morning, as well as the usual ’storm water toxic runoff’ surf warnings, that would explain the absence of all but the most die hard of surfers. Tetanus shots anyone?
On Thursday, hail intermittently pelted windows along the coast as well as inland. Some coastal dwellers were seen boarding up their windows with plywood. “Like hurricane season in Miami,” one hollered out.
Even the strongest of swimmers were warned to stay out of the water. Boaters were urged to avoid launching. A small craft advisory was in effect from Northern California down to the Mexican border on Monday, and continued into the weekend. The gale watch was active over several days into late Thursday evening. So unless you were an adrenaline junkie, insane, or had a submarine, the really, really, angry ocean was no place to be last week.
Much needed rain helps the ongoing drought conditions…
By 9 PM on Wednesday, 1.06 inches of rain had fallen in Cardiff, 1.25 inches at Montgomery Field, 1.87 inches in Rancho Bernardo, 1.18 inches in Poway and 1.46 inches in Escondido, according to the Weather Service. Inches more were added to the tally from Thursday and Friday. Welcome numbers to a parched state. And NO, this doesn’t mean we can leave the water running while we brush our teeth. We are still operating under drought conditions.
Power outages were a problem throughout San Diego county. Almost 100,000 residences and businesses lost power during the storms, according to San Diego Gas & Electric. Companies were kept busy removing downed trees from power lines and roads, as well as from atop cars. Rock slides and mud slides were plentiful and sandstone sea bluffs from one end of the coast to the other lost a little around their waistline.
Looking back on this past week, I am reminded of Dorothy’s OZ, Niagara Falls, Florida and a smattering of the Amazon, all sogged slogged together. One week we’re in a elemental blender, the next…sunbeams once again glint off the golden lotus blossom atop the Self Realization Fellowship in Encinitas. The wetsuits are back, joggers are jogging, the dogs are barking, and we are once again fighting for road space with the cycling hoards. In ‘America’s Finest City’, rebound is instantaneous.
For more information on emergency preparedness contact:
San Diego County – Office of Disaster Preparedness
(858) 565-3490
Resources:
10 News – San Diego
Fox5 News – San Diego
San Diego News Network
Hi there I like your post – good stuff – thanks for the updates. The weather has been extra rainy this year, but we need it!
So true. We could have done without the gale wind gusts and hail though!