Cold storm douses region with rain, hail, snow

A chilly winter storm brought downpours, stiff winds, scattered hail and mountain snowfall to San Diego County on Monday.

The blustery atmospheric system delivered moisture amounts ranging from mere traces to more than four-tenths of an inch across San Diego County over the day, according to the National Weather Service.

As of 5 p.m., the dark cloud banks had dropped 0.15 in Ramona and the Granite Hills neighborhood of El Cajon; 0.43 of an inch of precipitation in Rancho Bernardo; 0.38 at Montgomery Field airport in Kearny Mesa; 0.37 in Bonsall; 0.36 in Rainbow, near the Riverside County line; 0.32 in Fallbrook and Oceanside; 0.3 at Lindbergh Field in San Diego; 0.26 at Lake Henshaw; 0.25 in western Mission Valley; 0.21 at Brown Field in Otay Mesa; 0.2 in Carlsbad; 0.16 in Poway; 0.14 in Escondido; 0.12 in La Mesa; 0.11 in Bonita; 0.07 in Julian; and 0.04 in Descanso, Rincon Springs, Santa Ysabel and the Lake Wohlford area.

By early afternoon, light snow was falling in sections of the East County highlands, and small hail had pelted several locales, the NWS reported.

A winter storm warning for areas above 3,500 feet was in effect through 3 a.m. Tuesday. Overnight, the snow level was expected to drop to 2,500 feet or possibly lower in spots, with some locations above 4,500 feet possibly getting fresh drifts up to 18 inches deep. Desert communities also could see some flurries of frozen white flakes, meteorologists said.

The rains are likely to be over with in San Diego County by late Tuesday morning, making way for a cool, partly cloudy afternoon, the weather service predicted.

A deepening marine layer could create some scattered drizzle or light rain Wednesday night, forecasters said. By the end of the week, a high-pressure system should bring mostly clear skies and warmer days to the region, the National Weather Service reported.