Flash Flood in San Diego County, California

A swift water rescue team pulled a man from a submerged car in a small creek near Old Highway 395 and 5th St. in Rainbow. A young boy, also in the car, was swept down stream before rescuers arrived. The boys body was recovered on the 26th.

After a wet start to the month, a series of 3 storms traversed the region between the 19th and 24th of January. The storms produced flooding rains, extreme mountain snowfall, and strong winds from the coast to the deserts. Rainfall for the 6 day period reached 10-13 inches along the coastal slopes from San Bernardino to San Diego County. Over the coast and valleys 2-7 inches of rain occurred with 0.5-3 inches in the deserts. Snow accumulated to elevations as low as 4,000 ft with 2-5 feet of snow above 5,500 feet and as much as 6 feet on the highest peaks. Strong synoptic and squall induced winds combined with saturated soils to down hundreds of trees over the coast and valleys on the 20th. Damages from downed trees was in the millions of dollars. In the City of San Diego 29 high water rescues were conducted on the 20th alone. The governor declared a State of Emergency in San Diego County.