Storm in San Diego floods roads and closes schools

An unusual deluge of rain and flash flooding hit the San Diego area on Monday, closing freeways, flooding roads and forcing several schools to send students home early.

Officials are making numerous rescue calls after as much as two inches fell in three hours, the National Weather Service said. The agency noted that the San Diego River was actively flooding and water levels are still rising.

The area had already received more rain on Monday than during the feared Tropical Storm Hilary last August.

“By all indications, this will be one of the 10 wettest days for the airport here in any climate record going back to the 1800s,” said Brian Adams, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego. “It's been a day, yeah.”

Some schools in the region closed early due to flooding or power outages, while others were advised to shelter in place. About 14,500 San Diego Gas & Electric customers lost electricity as of Monday afternoon PowerOutage.us.

“We have had power outages, loss of communications and flooding in some locations,” the National School District of San Diego County said said on X.

After two homeless shelters were flooded, the city of San Diego rushed to transport people to public gyms. The San Diego Central Library also closed after its parking garage flooded, while San Diego police announced that both counters at its downtown headquarters would be closed for the day. Sandbags were offered at recreation centers across the city.