Rainstorm douses San Diego area

SAN DIEGO - A mild autumn storm brought moderate but steady rainfall to the San Diego area today.

The low-pressure atmospheric system sweeping through Southern California is expected to keep producing local showers into Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

As of early this evening, the bands of dark clouds had dropped anywhere from a few hundredths of an inch to more than three-quarters of an inch of moisture across the county, the weather service reported.

Bonsall received 0.55 inches of rain and Fallbrook received 0.47 inches, according to the 5 p.m. report by the weather service.

Among the highest recorded amounts were 0.76 of an inch in University Heights; 0.7 at Lindbergh Field; 0.68 at Birch Hill and in La Jolla; 0.67 in Point Loma; 0.63 in Del Mar, Kearny Mesa and Serra Mesa; 0.62 in Encinitas, Mission Beach, Mission Valley and Rancho Bernardo; and 0.61 in Oceanside and Ramona.

Before making its exit at the end of the workweek, the storm will drop 1 to 2 inches of rain along the ocean shoreline and in the mountains, 1 to 1 1/2 inches in the western valleys, and up to a half-inch in the deserts, meteorologists predicted.

Isolated thunderstorms will be possible in coastal areas Thursday, according to the weather service.