Winter storm brings snow, hail and power outages

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

Nearly 1,400 San Diego Gas & Electric customers were without power early Tuesday because of storm-related outages, including 98 customers in the Julian/Santa Ysabel area. Lightning caused 30 customers in Lakeside to lose power.

Other outages were in the Live Oaks Springs/Boulevard area, Blossom Valley, La Jolla and East Descanso. SDG&E estimated electricity would be restored to the Julian/Santa Ysabel customers by Tuesday afternoon.

As of 9:30 p.m. Monday, the blustery atmospheric system had dropped 0.45 inches of rain in Ramona, 0.77 in Rancho Bernardo, 0.88 in Valley Center, 0.5 in Santee, 0.58 in Alpine, 0.55 at MCAS Miramar, .95 in Vista, 0.32 in Chula Vista, and 0.37 at Lindbergh Field. An average of 10 inches of snow accumulated in the mountains.

Mountain areas were swept by west-to-northwest winds blowing between 25 and 35 mph and gusting up to 45 mph over the ridges, according to a National Weather Service advisory. Affected areas included Santa Ysabel, Warner Springs, Ranchita, Julian, Lake Henshaw, Pine Hills, Pine Valley, Oak Grove, Mount Laguna, Morena Village, Descanso, Cuyamaca, Campo, Cameron, and Boulevard.

Travelers in the mountains were urged to carry chains, a flashlight, extra food and clothing.

A freeze watch was scheduled to go into effect in the inland valleys from 10 p.m. Tuesday to 9 a.m. Wednesday. The weather service forecasted temperatures in the inland valleys to drop between 28 and 32 degrees during the freeze watch.

A less vigorous storm is expected to arrive Wednesday evening.