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Weather extravaganza: Cold storm brings rain, snow, wind and king tides to San Diego

The cold storm system is expected to drop temperatures and bring off-and-on showers, possibly snow, through Saturday

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Periods of rain and mountain snow showers are expected through Saturday morning thanks to a storm system in our area, the National Weather Service said.

San Diego County saw some scattered showers overnight Thursday and early Friday. Some scattered showers may impact the morning commute and we should expect periods of showers throughout the day continuing into Saturday for the mountains and the county, the NWS said.

Here's how much rain we could get from this storm system:

  • COAST: Near 0.20’’
  • VALLEYS: 0.20’’-0.40’’
  • MOUNTAINS: 0.50’’-1’’
  • DESERTS: 0.01’-0.10’’

"We may not get a lot of rain, but we’ll definitely see much cooler air move in," Bledsoe said.

The system could send temperatures plummeting 10 to 20 degrees below Thursday's high temperatures, Bledsoe said. That would put temperatures into the 60s for the valleys and 40s for the mountains β€” where overnight lows could be near freezing. Overnight lows elsewhere are expected to be in the 20s, 30s and 40s.

"This is a cold system that will bring our temperatures down significantly," NBC 7's Brooke Martell said. "That means there is a chance we could get some snow with this storm."

Snow levels at 3 a.m. Thursday were around 6,000 ft. Over the next few hours, snow levels are expected to drop to 5,000 to 5,500 ft. eventually falling down to 4,000 to 4,500 ft. Saturday morning as the rain tapers off, the NWS said.

Winds will also pick up with this storm, forecasters say. Wind gusts could reach 25 mph at the coast and 35-45 mph in the mountains and deserts.

A beach hazards statement is in place until 10 a.m. Saturday as a strong northwesterly swell will bring elevated wave heights and potential for coastal flooding, Martell said. King Tides will also peak Friday and Saturday.

Ahead of the storm, the week started with a slight warm-up and sunny and windy conditions. Morning temperatures started to shift cooler as the storm approached.

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