Rain, rain comes this way through weekend

Escondido Promenade, a Grapevine sponsor, during the last big rainstorm/File

Weather forecasters are describing a one-two punch of winter storms arriving in San Diego County for the end of this week.

Overnight and early morning sprinkles in San Diego County are expected to continue throughout most of Wednesday as the first and weaker of two upcoming winter storms moves toward the region.

“It’s a really nice, organized cold front coming through Friday night and Saturday morning,” meteorologist Alex Tardy said. “So that’ll be icing on the cake. That’ll be round two, and a much colder windier storm.”

The first trough of low pressure is expected to produce only sporadic light rain, but it may be enough to leave roadways slick during morning commutes, according to the National Weather Service. A slight chance of thunderstorms is in the overnight forecast for the beaches.

That storm will dissipate Thursday and drier weather is expected for most of the day Friday.

The second storm is poised to hit the region Friday night and bring widespread rain and heavy mountain snow, which may cause problems for holiday travelers. Forecasters warned that travel conditions through the mountains on Saturday could be treacherous. It could potentially drop several inches of snow and snow levels could fall to as low as 3,000 to 3,500 feet Saturday.

Strong winds are also expected Friday night and Saturday, especially in the mountains and deserts.

Temperatures in coastal areas and the valleys on Friday will top out in the mid-60s, with lows in the mid-40s to low 50s. On Saturday, the mercury will likely stay in the mid-50s to low 60s, with a low between 40 and 48 at the beaches and 37 to 45 degrees in the valleys Saturday night, according to the weather service.

The agency predicted highs of 54 to 59 degrees in the mountains Friday would fall to 41 to 46 degrees on Saturday. Saturday night, low temperatures in the mountains may drop as low as 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

Milder and drier weather is expected throughout the county on Christmas Day.

Weather forecasters are describing a one-two punch of winter storms arriving in San Diego County for the end of this week.

Overnight and early morning sprinkles in San Diego County are expected to continue throughout most of Wednesday as the first and weaker of two upcoming winter storms moves toward the region.

“It’s a really nice, organized cold front coming through Friday night and Saturday morning,” meteorologist Alex Tardy said. “So that’ll be icing on the cake. That’ll be round two, and a much colder windier storm.”

The first trough of low pressure is expected to produce only sporadic light rain, but it may be enough to leave roadways slick during morning commutes, according to the National Weather Service. A slight chance of thunderstorms is in the overnight forecast for the beaches.

That storm will dissipate Thursday and drier weather is expected for most of the day Friday.

The second storm is poised to hit the region Friday night and bring widespread rain and heavy mountain snow, which may cause problems for holiday travelers. Forecasters warned that travel conditions through the mountains on Saturday could be treacherous. It could potentially drop several inches of snow and snow levels could fall to as low as 3,000 to 3,500 feet Saturday.

Strong winds are also expected Friday night and Saturday, especially in the mountains and deserts.

Temperatures in coastal areas and the valleys on Friday will top out in the mid-60s, with lows in the mid-40s to low 50s. On Saturday, the mercury will likely stay in the mid-50s to low 60s, with a low between 40 and 48 at the beaches and 37 to 45 degrees in the valleys Saturday night, according to the weather service.

The agency predicted highs of 54 to 59 degrees in the mountains Friday would fall to 41 to 46 degrees on Saturday. Saturday night, low temperatures in the mountains may drop as low as 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

Milder and drier weather is expected throughout the county on Christmas Day.

Free sandbags anyone?

San Diego County offers free sandbags to residents.

San Diego County officials reminded residents of unincorporated areas that they can pick up free sandbags to protect their homes from flooding.

Sandbags can help prevent runoff, mud and debris from damaging homes, clogging storm drains and flooding roadways.

“The region is still suffering through record levels of drought this year,” county officials said in a statement. “Because of that, rains could trigger erosion and even debris flow, especially in areas that aren’t covered by lawns, trees, shrubs and plants.”

Residents can pick up sand bags that they’ll have to fill themselves at several locations around the county and must bring a shovel.

Locations for free sand and bags are listed below. Just bring a shovel to fill the sandbags and you’ll be good to go.

  • Valley Center Fire Protection District Station 2: 28205 North Lake Wohlford Road, Valley Center
  • Pauma Valley-Rincon, Cal Fire Station 70: 16971 Highway 76
  • Valley Center Cal Fire Station 50: 1587 Highway 78, Julian
  • Alpine Fire Protection District, Station 17: 1364 Tavern Road, Alpine (Bags only)
  • Ramona Station: 3410 Dye Road, Ramona
  • North County Fire Protection District, Station 4: 4375 Pala Mesa Drive, Fallbrook
  • Cal Fire Station 30: 17304 Highway 94, Dulzura
  • Bonita/Sunnyside Fire Department: 4900 Bonita Road, Bonita
  • Boulevard Fire Department: 40080 Ribbonwood Road, Boulevard

Public Works crews will post road conditions on its Twitter and Facebook pages but they will be focused on dealing with the storm so they cannot answer questions on the pages about specific roads, and drivers should be aware conditions can change rapidly.

Residents who live in the incorporated areas can contact their local fire departments or cities to see if they are offering sand and sandbags.

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