Reports have been trickling in from all over San Diego County — from Coronado to Mission Valley to Kearny Mesa — on Sunday regarding flooding, road closures, downed trees and more following the powerful New Year's Eve storm that dropped as much as an inch or more of precipitation on most of the region.
Earlier in the day, officials had closed the following roads due to mudslides and other issues:
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Road Closures in San Diego County
The Department of Public Works closed several roads Sunday morning due to flooding and downed trees from the rainstorm. Here's the latest on road closures:
- Carlsbad: Highland Drive between Oak Avenue and Carlsbad Village Drive will remain closed until Monday morning due to some trees down
- Escondido: Escondido County Club dip at Harmony Grove Road is now open
- Ramona: Letton Street is open; Main Street to Kelly Avenue is open
- Spring Valley: Quarry Road is open
- Vista: Melrose Way closed from Marsopa Drive to Sunset Drive due to a tree down in utility lines. Primrose Avenue is open.
Local
Freeways Flooded or Blocked:
The California Highway Patrol reported multiple freeways that were flooded or blocked by mudslides across the county:
- As of noon Monday, mudslide was blocking half the roadway on Rock Mountain Drive near Sandia Creek in Oceanside
- At 9:31 a.m. on Sunday, a mudslide was reported at 10678 Sunrise Highway
- At 9:03 a.m., a possible mudslide or rockslide was reported at Old Highway 80 near Crestwood Road
- At 6:21 a.m., a mudslide with significant roadway debris was seen on Old Julian Highway near Cinnamon Rock Road
- At 5:13 a.m., flooding was coming from Native Oaks Golf Course in Valley Center on Woods Valley Road and Valley Center Road
- At 2:25 a.m., major flooding in all lanes of westbound state Route 94 near College Avenue caused multiple traffic collisions and closed multiple lanes with one lane open
Scattered showers continued across the county Sunday as the trough responsible for Saturday night's heavy rainfall departs to the east, the National Weather Service said. Gusty winds may continue in conjunction with some rain and snow showers over the mountains, so the winter weather advisory will continue.
Flooding caused headaches around San Diego throughout Sunday. In Mission Valley, the problems grew as the day got long, with the entire lower level of the Fashion Valley Mall's parking garage flowing with water and traffic stopped across roadways near the San Diego River. A Mercedes driver was spotted marooned atop his sedan as water shut down Lightwave Avenue in Kearny Mesa in the early morning. The car was still there hours later when an NBC 7 employee drove by.
The wet weather also played havoc with local flora, downing trees, stripping leaves and littering streets with palm fronds and dropped branches. One unlucky motorist in Coronado had a palm tree crush his maroon Toyota Tundra, which was parked in the 900 block of 8th Street.
Elsewhere, Carlsbad police shut down Highland Drive between Oak Avenue and Carlsbad Village Drive when multiple trees came down, and, not far away, a similar problem on Melrose Way in Vista caused a closure from Marsopa Drive to Sunset Drive.
A brief dry period settled over the county on Monday, but an overall unsettled pattern remains in place. An active Pacific jet stream should steer a series of disturbances into California through much of the week, leading to several additional chances for precipitation.
The City News Service contributed to this report — Ed.
