Violent thunderstorms saturate San Diego County, with more rain to come

The violent second wave of a massive Pacific storm hit San Diego County on Tuesday, bringing enough rain to flood the San Diego River and thunderstorms that prompted a brief (and rare) tornado warning.

Since arriving in the region on Monday, the system has dropped 3 to 6.6 inches of rain in parts of the county’s north and about 2 inches in some areas of the county’s south. And on Tuesday, the storm apparently claimed its first life.

Border Patrol agents near the Tijuana River channel west of the San Ysidro port of entry saw someone showing signs of distress and then submerged while attempting to cross the fast-flowing river around 2 a.m. Agents called San Diego firefighters and lifeguards for help, but when a life raft arrived at the area, the person was floating in the water. Rescuers recovered the body.

The Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause of death and whether it was related to the storm.

Although the worst of the storm hit further north, Tuesday’s weather kept emergency crews busy in San Diego County and Tijuana.

San Diego city officials said around 1 p.m. that more than 500 storm-related calls had been received in the past 24 hours, with nearly 70 considered emergencies. Across the city, nearly 60 roads were closed due to flooding.

Early Tuesday, San Diego lifeguards used a rescue boat to rescue two people from the south bank of the San Diego River in Mission Valley, just east of Qualcomm Way. The two were examined by medical personnel but did not require treatment.

Farther north, Caltrans crews worked through the night to repair a sinkhole that developed Monday on State Route 78.

In the Artesanal neighborhood of Tijuana, a landslide on a hill damaged two homes. As of Tuesday afternoon, city firefighters had responded to 15 rain-related incidents in the past day, including a Red Cross ambulance that became stuck in the mud with a patient on board, officials said.

At 10 a.m., heavy rain led the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood warning for northwestern parts of San Diego County, particularly Oceanside, as well as Riverside and Orange counties. The San Diego River rose beyond its 10-foot flood stage around 2 p.m.

A much rarer advisory went out around 11:45 a.m.: a tornado warning.

The National Weather Service issued an advisory to a wide swath of the south and east of the county after radar detected a rotation in a thunderstorm.

“When there are very strong storms, they start to rotate. “Radar can detect it and, if the circulation is strong enough, it can indicate that a tornado is forming in the cloud or potentially developing on the ground,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Tardy. “So it’s literally a circulation within the storm itself.”

Alerts sounded on cellphones starting at 11:44 a.m., when the weather service reported that a severe thunderstorm was over Paradise Hills and near Chula Vista.

There were 164 schools in the tornado warning area, and several districts had their schools temporarily shelter in place until the warning expired, including South Bay Union, Chula Vista Elementary, Grossmont Union High, Sweetwater Union High and La Mesa-Spring Valley , as well as several San Diego Unified campuses.

Residents also took action.

When Chula Vista resident Wendi León received the warning, she went outside and recorded the ominous black clouds forming on the horizon. She called her mother, who was out for a walk but took refuge in her car.

“When the alarm went off we didn’t know where to hide,” León said. “They said basement. We don’t have basements here. They said to stay away from the windows, both sides of my house are head to toe windows. “I grabbed my daughter and my dog ​​and went into the garage that was in the corner.”

The alert was lifted around 12:15 p.m. and no tornado damage was reported, officials said.

The last tornado warning issued in San Diego was on August 20 when Tropical Storm Hilary hit the region. Before that, one was issued in March 2023 in North County.

On Wednesday, a completely new storm will reach the coast, periodically leaving light to heavy rain that will last until Thursday. Precipitation totals were difficult to predict, but even if the region gets less rain, the ground is so saturated that it could still cause flooding, forecasters said.

Scattered rain will continue through the weekend.

In-person classes have been canceled on Wednesday for schools in Tijuana, Rosarito, Ensenada, Tecate and San Quintín, the governor of Baja California, Marina del Pilar Ávila, announced on social networks. In some cities, such as Tijuana, classes have been suspended since February 1 due to weather.

The city of San Diego lifted its evacuation warning later Tuesday for people living in low-lying areas in Southcrest, Mountain View, Encanto, San Ysidro, Sorrento Valley and Mission Valley. A shelter for flood victims and those still concerned about flooding remained open at the Balboa Park Municipal Gymnasium.

San Diego officials said Tuesday that the city’s stormwater system held up well to the rain.

“I’m pleased to report that all of our canals and pump stations are functioning properly,” said Todd Snyder, director of the city’s stormwater department. “They are containing the flood waters. And our stormwater pump stations are up and running.”

He said crews were paying special attention to communities that were flooded during the historic Jan. 22 storm.

Angela Hampton, who lives on Beta Street in Southcrest, was one of many people in her neighborhood whose home was destroyed by last month’s flooding.

However, over the past week, the street has been largely free of new flooding, he said.

“When it started raining, we were very nervous,” Hampton said. “But (the canal) did very well after the city removed much of the vegetation.”

Hampton said the neighborhood could maintain that confidence in the future if the channels remain clear.

If San Diego receives 3 inches of rain by Sunday, that would bring the city’s seasonal rainfall total to more than 8 inches. San Diego only averages 9.79 inches of rain per year, a year that runs from October 1 to September 30.

The weather service said 2.88 inches of rain fell in Oceanside Harbor on Monday alone, breaking the previous record from Feb. 5 by 1.29 inches. The oldest record was set in 1948. Vista recorded 1.87 inches, breaking the day’s record by 1.13 inches. The previous record was set in 1976.

Staff writers Alexandra Mendoza, Kristen Taketa, Emily Alvarenga, Tammy Murga and Caleb Lunetta contributed to this report.