Dry weather to move into San Diego County Tuesday

Gov. Gavin Newsom today declared a state of emergency in San Diego and Ventura counties to help recover from Monday's storm, as dry weather moved into Southern California.

The emergency proclamation includes provisions for unemployment benefits for impacted residents and waiving fees to replace records such as driver's license cards and birth certificates. The declaration also allows for fairgrounds and state-owned properties to be used as evacuation and staging sites, as the Office of Emergency Services sees fit.

The chilly winter storm that arrived in the San Diego area over the weekend delivered steady downpours along with widespread flooding that swamped roadways and neighborhoods across the region.

The National Weather Service said Monday was the fifth wettest day in San Diego since 1850.

In the late morning Monday, with rainfall rates approaching a half- inch per hour, the NWS issued a flash-flood warning for the western valleys and the ocean coastline of the county, effective through midday.

As of 3 p.m., according to the NWS, the top local three-day precipitation totals included 4.51 inches on Otay Mountain, 4.49 in Point Loma, 4.21 in National City, 4.01 in the Palomar area, 3.89 in La Mesa, 3.4 in Fallbrook, 3.39 on Birch Hill and 3.38 on Dulzura Summit.

Most other locales in the county received from 1 to 3.5 inches of moisture over the period, meteorologists reported.

Crews with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department performed about 25 rescues Monday in the San Diego and Tijuana River valleys, along with vehicle rescues in various neighborhoods, according to the city agency. They also used inflatable boats and rescue boards to help hundreds of residents escape badly flooded homes along Beta Street and surrounding roads in Southcrest, according to SDFRD public affairs.

Firefighters and U.S. Border Patrol agents rescued a group of migrants who entered the country illegally and got trapped in floodwaters in San Ysidro, the federal agency reported.

Mayor Todd Gloria declared an emergency in the city due to heavy rainfall and flash flooding. The county of San Diego proclaimed a local emergency Monday.

The Red Cross of San Diego and Imperial counties opened an overnight emergency shelter at Lincoln High School, 4777 Imperial Ave., for residents impacted by flooding and storm damage. The group also opened a shelter at Bostonia Recreation Center at 1049 Bostonia St. in El Cajon and the city of Coronado opened a shelter at Coronado Community Center, 1845 Strand Way.

The city of San Diego opened a temporary shelter at the Golden Hill Recreation Center, 2600 Golf Course Drive.

Due to flooding, San Diego was temporarily relocating people staying at the city's 16th and Newton Bridge Shelter to the Balboa Park Activity Center, and some residents at the 20th & B Safe Sleeping site to Golden Hall.

More than two dozen power outages hit communities from the South Bay to the North County, at least some of them related to the inclement weather, according to San Diego Gas & Electric. In Lincoln Park, Logan Heights and Mountain View, blackouts left more than 9,000 addresses without electrical service in the late morning and early afternoon Monday.

SDG&E issued a statement Monday morning urging the public to stay away from any downed or otherwise damaged power lines they might encounter. People should always assume that such compromised transmission equipment is energized and call 911 to report the hazard, the utility advised.

The area was drying out Tuesday, and local temperatures should remain cool through Thursday, then warm up Friday and Sunday as high pressure aloft strengthens along the West Coast, the weather service reported.

The county of San Diego released an online survey for residents and businesses to fill out in the event they experienced property damage. The survey will be used to gather information in case the county requests state and/or federal assistance.