HWY 76 CLOSED AGAIN

The Sheriff's Dept. and other authorities decided to close Hwy 76 @ Valley Center Road earlier this afternoon again.

CHP is letting Palomar Mountain residents through to come up the East Grade at Henshaw.


Here's the weather info that is basically driving this closure (and the snow advisory that may help open it)...


ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS- SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE- SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS-SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS- RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS- SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-APPLE AND LUCERNE VALLEYS- COACHELLA VALLEY-SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS- 1020 AM PST SAT DEC 8 2007

...COLD STORM SYSTEM MOVING TOWARD SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA...

A COLD STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE CALIFORNIA BIGHT TONIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING BRINGING NUMEROUS SHOWERS. INSTABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STORM WILL BRING THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH SMALL HAIL TONIGHT AND SUNDAY...ALONG WITH ISOLATED FUNNEL CLOUDS AND WATERSPOUTS OVER THE COASTAL WATERS. THE SNOW LEVEL WILL DROP TO AROUND 3000 FEET EARLY SUNDAY...AND MAY DROP EVEN LOWER IN HEAVIER SHOWERS. LIGHT SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE DOWN TO THE DESERT FLOOR IN THE HIGH DESERTS.

ADDITIONAL RAINFALL TOTALS WILL BE QUITE VARIABLE DUE TO THE SHOWERY NATURE OF THE PRECIPITATION WITH AMOUNTS GENERALLY ONE HALF AN INCH OR LESS...EXCEPT IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY WHERE AMOUNTS OF ONE HALF TO ONE INCH COULD BE MORE WIDESPREAD WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS BY LATE SUNDAY. LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS OF RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE IN CONVECTION AND WHERE SHOWERS PERSIST OVER THE SAME AREA. SNOWFALL COULD BE LOCALLY HEAVY IN THE SAN DIEGO MOUNTAINS DEPENDING ON THE TRACK OF THE SURFACE LOW PRESSURE CENTER...BUT GENERALLY SIX INCHES OR LESS IS EXPECTED...WITH THE LOWER AMOUNTS MORE LIKELY FOR THE RIVERSIDE AND SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS.

HEAVY SHOWERS COULD CAUSE LOCAL DEBRIS FLOWS...MUD SLIDES AND FLOODING IN AND BELOW RECENTLY BURNED AREAS...ON STEEP TERRAIN AND IN POORLY DRAINED LOW LYING AREAS. THE COMBINATION OF SNOW...SLICK ROADS AND DENSE FOG WILL MAKE TRAVEL LOCALLY HAZARDOUS IN THE MOUNTAINS.