San Diego County starts 2026 with historic rainfall
San Diego got a month’s worth of rain to start the new year.
More than two inches of rain fell at San Diego’s airport between midnight and early Thursday afternoon, which surpassed average rainfall totals for the entire month of January at just under two inches, according to NBC 7 Meteorologist Greg Bledsoe.
“It’ll finish as one of the top 15 rainiest days ever in the history of San Diego, dating all the way back to the 1930s,” Bledsoe said.
The heaviest rain from this storm moved out Friday, which was expected to be drier and warmer with a few lingering showers, giving San Diegans a break to clean up the mess left behind before another storm system moves in. The weaker and colder system is expected to bring off-and-on rain chances Saturday evening through the mid-week.
The National Weather Service issued a Beach Hazard Statement through Sunday due to the anticipated King Tides from this month’s full super moon. High tides are expected to be around 7 feet, and have the potential to cause minor coastal flooding, the NWS said.
Flooding situations around San Diego County on New Year’s Day
The heavy rainfall brought fast flooding around the county, which trapped people in their cars and forced lifeguards to rescue multiple people.
The National Weather Service issued a river flood warning for the San Diego River through Friday. The heavy rainfall caused the San Diego River to peak at 12.75 feet on Thursday morning, which put it in the upper end of minor flood stage. The river level had lowered on Friday but a Flood Warning remained for the surrounding areas.
The large amount of water falling so quickly flooded many areas up and down San Diego County:
- The San Diego fire department and its lifeguards were called out to make at least 11 rescues across the city. Swift water trapped a man under a bridge in Mission Valley, requiring NBC 7’s Brooke Martell, who was at the scene, to call 9-1-1.
- San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokeswoman Candace Hadley described the flooding following Thursday morning rains as “a river, and said low-lying Fashion Valley had “very significant flooding,” especially in the Avenida Del Rio area.
- A San Diego Lifeguard Swift Water Rescue team rescued an adult and a child trapped in a vehicle by rapidly rising flood waters at the Fashion Valley mall. “One adult and one child became trapped in their vehicle due to flooding in Mission Valley and were rescued by lifeguards,” Hadley said.
- Residents near Birch and Beta streets in Southcrest, the area flooded in 2023, battled flooding, with residents spotted apparently trying to unblock a storm drain. Several inches of water or more had backed up, the stormwater accumulated to mid-calf.
- Cars were submerged under water in Mission Hills on Thursday morning and a business was badly damaged by rising water.
- At one point, the Coronado Police Department said the area of Five Points was completely shut down due to flooding in front of the Coronado Yacht Club and Tennis Center, but, by 10 a.m., the roadway had been re-opened.
- To the north, the California Highway Patrol warned motorists about roadway flooding in the Del Mar area on Interstate 5 southbound at South Via De La Valle, a major interchange providing southbound access south to downtown. The interchange is also a key route for accessing the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
- Also in North County, CHP was urging drivers to be cautious near the 8000 block of Harmony Grove Road in Oceanside, where county road crews are removing small rocks and debris deposited during the rainstorm. The CHP reports the roadway might need to be closed. Across town, the on-ramp to state Route 78 eastbound from El Camino Real was closed due to flooding.
- NBC 7’s Dave Summers visited Rolando Park on Thursday where people living in one apartment complex were afraid of history repeating itself.
The department strongly urged residents to avoid all flooded areas caused by the storm.
- Another water rescue took place in Sorrento Valley near Carroll Canyon Road and Pacific Heights Boulevard.
- Also, a viewer tipped NBC 7 about what they described as 3 feet of standing water on Reynard Way in Mission Hills due to what they described as a blocked storm drain. At least four cars were spotted partially submerged by the floodwaters.
- North of there, at the Mission Valley YMCA, the parking lot had flooded, likely caused by the nearby San Diego River escaping its banks. Several cars were spotted with water nearing their floorboards.
Power outages
The storm that blew in Thursday morning brought with it significant power outages as well, affecting at least 5,000 San Diego Gas & Electric customers.
While residents in Clairemont, Bay Park, Morena, La Mesa and El Cajon were affected, the lion’s share of outages were in the San Diego communities of Logan Heights, Mountain View and Lincoln Park. At 8:30 a.m., the utility was reporting that 4,000-plus customers in those areas were without power. There was no estimated time for a return to service for those affected.
SDG&E crews were at the top of their game, though, and by midafternoon, the outage map was not showing a single incident around the county.
Airport ground stop
FAA officials announced at 8:14 a.m. on Thursday that a ground stop had been put into effect for departures at San Diego International Airport due to an “equipment outage.”
Just before 2:30 p.m., 235 flights had been delayed at SAN, with 49 flights canceled outright. By 11 p.m. on Thursday, it appeared that flights had resumed to largely normal operations at SAN.
