Rain to continue through today and tomorrow, Fallbrook receives 1.5 inches

SAN DIEGO - An autumn storm brought waves of rainfall and some flashes of lightning to the San Diego area today, causing scattered flooding problems along with typical rainy-day woes on streets and freeways.

As of early evening, the wet clouds were concentrating their heaviest drenching on the county's southern reaches while moving off toward Baja California, according to the National Weather Service. Still, diminishing showers were expected to continue through much of the region into Wednesday morning, the NWS reported.

Over the 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m., the storm dropped 1.58 inches of rain in Santa Ysabel; 1.5 inches in Fallbrook; 1.48 in Julian; 1.11 in San Onofre; 0.91 in Ramona; 0.89 in Rancho Bernardo; 0.81 in Borrego Springs; 0.76 at Palomar Observatory; 0.63 in Encinitas; 0.52 in Descanso; 0.44 in Kearny Mesa; 0.36 in Poway; 0.31 in Mission Valley; 0.26 at Brown Field airport; and 0.24 in downtown San Diego.

Throughout the day, the cloudbursts also resulted in road flooding and minor mudslides throughout the county.

Shortly before 8 a.m., a boulder rolled down an embankment and onto Interstate 15 near Mission Road in the Fallbrook area, hitting a southbound vehicle but not causing any injuries, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Flooding at Rancho Bernardo Road, meanwhile, caused a section of the same freeway to be closed for part of the morning.

Through the day, the downpours also submerged parts of the following roadways: eastbound state Route 78 at North Las Posas Road; Valley Center Road at Woods Valley Road; the 100 block of Ramona Street; and several eastbound Interstate 15 carpool lanes at Pomerado Road.

Between midnight and 5 p.m., the California Highway Patrol logged 231 accidents on area freeways and rural roads. Over an entire day of dry weather, by comparison, the CHP typically tallies 50 to 75 crashes in the San Diego region.

Experts with the National Weather Service say that the Fallbrook area can expect showers and thunderstorm activity through today (Tues. Oct. 19) and tonight. Chance of precipitation is listed as 80 percent with the high temperature for today expected to be approximately 63 degrees. Tonight, showers are expected to continue with the possibility of thunderstorms and the expected low is forecast to be around 57 degrees with a southwest wind between 5 and 10 miles per hour. Tomorrow, Wed. Oct. 20, showers and thunderstorm activity is expected until at least 11 a.m., after which the chance of precipitation is expected to drop to 70 percent. Wednesday is expected to be mostly cloudy with a high temperature near 61 degrees. A calm (5 mph) wind is expected from the west. By Wednesday night, chance of showers and thunderstorms drop to 40 percent chance and the expected low is 55 degrees. Fallbrook should see some sun here and there by Thursday, with a high near 64. Thursday night will be mostly cloudy with the low dropping to 53 degrees. Friday is also expected to be partly sunny, with a high near 63. Friday night is expected to bring patchy fog to the area. The weekend is expected to be mostly sunny with the high temperature Saturday expected to be 66, 72 on Sunday. Experts say fog is likely to appear in the area on Saturday night as well.