Brief break from wet weather before rain, snow chances return to San Diego County

San Diego County will see a break from wet weather on Tuesday before rain chances return for the middle part of the week as an upper-level, low-pressure system moves through.

The first of two storm systems this week brought light rain, mountain snow and gusty winds to the county overnight Monday. Scattered showers began Sunday evening and stretched through the Monday morning commute, bringing rainfall primarily to areas east of Interstate 15.

NBC 7's Doppler 7 radar showed heavy rainfall just southeast of El Cajon near La Presa and Jamul early Monday, according to NBC 7 meteorologist Brooke Martell.

"Tuesday is going to be mostly sunny and slightly warmer," NBC 7 meteorologist Greg Bledsoe said.

After the break on Tuesday, a weak atmospheric river is expected to bring more rain and chances for snow over the county's mountains later Wednesday and stick around through Friday. Martell said gusty westerly winds are also likely over the mountains and deserts.

"The main window for any more significant precipitation is looking like overnight Wednesday into Thursday morning, and then possibly again late Thursday evening into Friday morning," Bledsoe said. "We may see some snow, some high winds, a little bit of everything ... Surf's going to bump up again as well."

The weekend is looking a little bit drier, with rain chances possibly returning again for the early part of next week.

Rainfall totals

Here's how much rainfall parts of San Diego got as of 10 a.m. Monday:

Coastal

• Miramar .07
• San Diego airport .07
• Fashion Valley .05
• National City .05
• Chula Vista .02

Inland

• Santee .04
• Poway .04
• Escondido .04
• Ramona .29
• Santee .18
• Poway: .16
• Escondido: .05
• Alpine .71

Mountains

• Pine Valley 1.14
• Julian .6

Snow in San Diego County

Our local mountains also received some snow by Monday morning. Snow levels dropped from 4,000 to 4,500 feet with accumulations expected in Palomar Mountain and Mount Laguna, ranging from 3" to 5" of snow, Martell said.

Live cameras from Mount Laguna showed several inches of snow Monday morning. As of 10 a.m., Mount Laguna had accumulated 1 inch of snow.

Schools in the Mountain Empire Unified School District enacted a late start due to wet and potentially snowy road conditions.

Laguna Mountain Lodge

Laguna Mountain Lodge

Advisories

A winter weather advisory for San Diego County mountains, including the cities of Julian and Pine Valley, will be in effect from 4 a.m. Thursday to 10 a.m. Friday. Wet snow and total snow accumulations up to 5 inches over 4,00 feet are expected during that period.