Flood — San Diego, California

2017-02-27 to 2017-02-28 · near Overlook, San Diego, California

Event narrative

Significant flooding occurred along the San Diego River in Mission Valley with the river cresting at 14.15 ft, the third highest stage all-time. Numerous roadways were closed, the Fashion Valley Mall parking structure was closed and the Fashion Valley Transit Center was closed to bus traffic. Numerous water rescues were conducted along the San Diego River including 20 people rescued from the Premier Inns Mission Valley. Many vehicles were also flooded and destroyed.

Wider weather episode

An east west oriented atmospheric river impacted San Diego County and northern Baja on the 27th and 28th of February, resulting in a prolonged period of moderate to heavy rain. Rainfall totals of 6-9 inches along the coastal slopes, 3-5 inches in the valleys and 2-4 inches in coastal areas were reported in San Diego County, all within a 24 hour period. Elsewhere rainfall was significantly lighter. Widespread street, small stream, and river flooding resulted. Roadways were flooded and numerous swift water rescued occurred along the San Diego River which crested at 14.15 ft just after midnight. There were a dozen night time high water rescues and an evacuation of 45 persons from a hotel surrounding by moving water. This was the third highest crest on record. Flooding and tree damage also cut power to several thousand customers in San Diego County. Traffic collision for the day were 5 times their usual rate.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.7630, -117.2026)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 681118. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.