Update: Driving in San Diego County mountains was hazardous Wednesday night. One vehicle overturned on Sunrise Highway during a snow storm and a patient was treated for minor injuries, CHP reported. Chains were required at times in the Julian area.
A Winter Storm Warning for the mountains is in effect until 1 p.m. Thursday. At least 4 to 8 inches of snow had accumulated between 3,000 and 6,000 feet by Thursday morning and snowfall was expected to pick up again.
All Julian schools have closed.
"A Winter Storm Warning for heavy snow means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring," the Weather Service stated on its website. "Significant amounts of snow are forecast that will make travel dangerous. Only travel in an emergency. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency."
Mountain motorists should be prepared for road closures and carry chains. Travel on Interstate 8 and other mountain highways could be impacted, the Weather Service stated.
Visibility could be reduced to near zero with blowing snow and fog. Winds up to 45 mph were expected.
The storm is expected to dump 8 inches of snow between 3,000 and 6,000 feet, with 12 inches possible above 6,000 feet.
A wind advisory is in effect for the rest of the county. Gusts up to 50 mph are expected in the deserts and 35 mph in the coastal and inland valley regions.
Preliminary rainfall totals from the second storm as of 8 p.m. Wednesday
were 0.42 inches in Vista; 0.1 at Lindbergh Field; 0.24 in Chula Vista; 0.36
in Fallbrook; 0.22 in Rancho Bernardo; 0.28 in Ramona; 0.26 in La Mesa; 0.32 in Alpine; 0.33 in Santa Ysabel; 0.2 in Julian; 0.24 in Descanso; and 0.03 in
Borrego Springs.
Winds are forecast to shift from westerly to northeasterly, bringing heavy snowfall to east-facing mountain slopes and new drifts up to a foot deep to the highest local peaks, according to the Weather Service.
The showers are likely to dwindle through the early morning Thursday in coastal and inland-valley locales and peter out completely by around daybreak, forecasters said. The mountain snowfall, however, may continue through the daylight hours.
Following the exit of the inclement weather—which followed the previous storm by less than 48 hours—a dry, sunny and warmer climate should prevail until Sunday, when a new onset of overcast weather is expected to move over the region.
-- City News Service contributed to this report.
