San Diegans relieved to learn rain is on the way for the weekend

As the red flag warning expires, San Diego can expect some widespread showers and some mountain snow this weekend, the National Weather Service said.

A Winter Storm Watch will be in effect for the mountains from Sunday morning through Tuesday morning, bringing wintry conditions, snow showers and hazardous travel conditions along mountain highways.

Any rain is much needed for San Diego County, which has had the driest start to the water year (begins Oct. 1) in recorded history.

Although the red flag warning has expired and east winds are weakening, the air remains very dry and the fire risk will continue through the afternoon, NWS said.

“This is not going to be associated with an atmospheric river,” NBC 7 meteorologist Francella Perez said on Friday. “It will just be beneficial rain. That’ll be helpful for the firefighters. It will mitigate fire danger for the weekend, but it’s not going to end the fire season.”

This will be a cold storm system, which means we could see some snow in our local mountains late Sunday. The snow level could drop down to around 3,500 feet. Daytime highs will be 20 to 30 degrees colder than what we’ve experienced in the past two days, NBC 7’s meteorologist Angelica Campos said.

Much of Southern California has entered the moderate drought category as we enter 2025. The U.S. Drought Monitor attributed the change to above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation. It’s estimated nearly 19 million Californians are in drought areas.

SDG&E power shutoffs

Due to the windy and dry conditions, more than 2,000 San Diego Gas & Electric customers remained without power on Friday.

The utility says it implements public safety power shutoffs to keep power lines from arcing or throwing off sparks when trees come into contact with the high-power lines.

The utility said around noon Thursday that they were restoring power to some customers.

Strong winds were expected through Friday morning, which SDG&E said could result in other shutoffs and delayed restorations. The utility warned more than 80,000 customers that they could lose power during this weather event.

The agency opened several community resource centers for customers without power to utilize. The centers are open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and provide residents with WiFi, charging stations, water, snacks and warmth.

FRIDAY:

• COAST: mostly sunny – upper 60s
• VALLEY: mostly sunny -mid-70s
• MTNS: sunny – mid 50s
• DESERT: mostly sunny – upper 60s