Update: County Urges Avoidance of Coastal Waters Due to Bacteria Levels

Updated at 5:15 p.m. April 13, 2012

The county Department of Environmental Health on Friday night issued a general advisory for the coastal waters amid the latest storm.

“Activities such as swimming, surfing and diving should be avoided in all coastal waters for 72 hours following rain,” the county said. “This includes all coastal beaches and all of Mission Bay and San Diego Bay.”

The county said elevated bacteria levels can persist after a rainstorm depending upon the intensity of the storm, volume of runoff and ocean and current conditions.

A spring storm packing a cold, wintry punch moved over the San Diego area Friday, bringing rain, high winds and potential for widespread late-season mountain snowfall.

The arriving bands of dark clouds began generating scattered late-morning drizzles in the northern reaches of the county, according to the National Weather Service.

The brunt of the system was due to arrive by late afternoon, said weather service meteorologist Mike Watkins.

Rainfall totals were expected to reach anywhere from about a half-inch or less  to more than 2 inches across the region, while snowfall predictions ranged from 1 to 4 inches around the 4,000-foot level, 3 to 6 inches between 4,500 and 5,000 feet, and 6 to 10 inches above 5,000 feet.

Communities likely to get dustings or drifts of frozen white flakes included Boulevard, Cameron, Campo, Cuyamaca, Descanso, Julian, Lake Henshaw, Morena Village, Mount Laguna, Oak Grove, Pine Hills, Pine Valley, Ranchita, Santa Ysabel and Warner Springs, according to forecasters.

In the East County deserts, sustained winds up to 35 mph and gusts
reaching 60 mph were expected through late Saturday morning.

The storm also was expected to create heavy seas and potential for ocean waterspouts, prompting the weather service to issue a small-craft advisory through Saturday evening.

Here are the rainfall totals for San Diego County as of 5:05 p.m., according to the Weather Service.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS

ID ELEV (FT) STATION
OKB 30 OCEANSIDE AIRPORT 0.26
SDVIS 440 VISTA 0.46
CRQ 305 CARLSBAD AIRPORT 0.49
NKX 479 MIRAMAR MCAS 0.22
MYF 423 MONTGOMERY FIELD 0.22
SAN 42 SAN DIEGO LINDBERGH 0.19
SDCHU 120 CHULA VISTA 0.16
SDNAC 25 NATIONAL CITY 0.17
SDM 538 BROWN FIELD 0.38

SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS

ID ELEV (FT) STATION
FLBC1 675 FALLBROOK 0.52
VLCC1 1295 VALLEY CENTER 0.58
ESOC1 640 ESCONDIDO 0.58
SGX 690 RANCHO BERNARDO 0.89
PWYC1 440 POWAY 0.28
RMAC1 1720 MT. WOODSON 0.32
RNM 1400 RAMONA 0.33
SDLAM 490 LA MESA 0.15
SDSNL 435 SANTEE 0.44
SDRSC 400 RANCHO SAN DIEGO 0.22
ANEC1 2041 ALPINE 0.30
POTC1 2345 POTRERO 0.20

SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS

ID ELEV (FT) STATION
PAMC1 5530 PALOMAR MOUNTAIN 0.57
OGVC1 2770 OAK GROVE 0.63
RCHC1 4415 RANCHITA 0.22
JULC1 4240 JULIAN 0.64
YSAC1 2990 SANTA YSABEL 0.73
DENC1 3480 DESCANSO 0.25
CZZ 2609 CAMPO 0.16

SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS

ID ELEV (FT) STATION
SFVC1 2280 SAN FELIPE 0.15
BGOC1 500 BORREGO SPRINGS 0.08
OCWC1 425 OCOTILLO WELLS 0.01
SDCBK 1000 CANEBRAKE 0.10
AGUC1 1222 AGUA CALIENTE 0.07