Here we are at 6:00 AM,
a tropical storm already bringing
those strong gusts to San Diego County.
And yeah, here's some of the wind
blowing around in San Carlos right now.
You see those palm trees all over the place?
We saw palm fronds on the road in the North
county on my way into work here today.
And guess what?
That rain is soon going to follow.
Here's our video from our photographer,
Anne Marie Spalding.
And you can see that wind blowing around
a few raindrops, maybe here and there,
and you might notice it on your windshield
as you're stepping out the door here.
Thanks for being here at
6:00 AM on this Friday.
I'm Eric Connors.
I'm Caroline infernet.
Around for our team is tracking
the big change in the forecast.
We've got Dana Marie Mcnichol and Chris grow.
They have more on the
preparations for the storm,
but we're gonna begin with
Evan for a look at when we can
expect this rain to arrive.
Good morning, Evan.
Good morning to you, Kerry. Eric. Yeah.
There is a lot going on out there already.
You could see from Dana
Marie and Chris's live shot.
The wind already blowing out there and
in some cases, those raindrops just
starting to come down as we speak.
We're starting to see this cell
travel from South to north over the
international border as we speak.
Strong sell.
Just passing north of the 94 right now.
Starting to see that rain pick up
across the coastline and inland.
So over the next several hours we're
gonna see all this activity pick up,
including the wind, including the rain,
all alongside these very hot temperatures.
Last night we had those clouds
build in the overnight hours.
Those clouds have held on
to the heat from yesterday.
So right now we are in the upper 80s
in most spots on the map as we see the
cell travel N you can see how it's
strongest right now just South of the border.
But the yellow and orange that you
see South of the border is just gonna
keep making its way up towards us.
So expect the rain and Thunder.
Storms to intensify throughout the day today.
All that activity picking up in just a bit.
We'll walk through how K is gonna
be affecting our weekend.
So how much rain are we gonna
see throughout the weekend?
All the wind that is expected.
Gusts possible up to 80 mph
across the mountains.
Details on all of it in just a few minutes.
Now our coast is, of course,
bracing for this storm.
CBS 8 Dana Marie Mcnichol is
live in Imperial Beach right now,
an area that is prone to water
closures due to storm runoff.
I'll send things over to you,
Dana Marine, for the latest.
Yeah, I mean, that's right.
Good morning.
Well, it's already raining here.
Those tropical breezes are
ripping through the palm trees.
And when that rain comes down,
a lot of these beaches in the area closed
due to sewage runoff in our waters.
And I just checked,
there is currently a warning
for both the silver strand
and Imperial Beach due to high
bacterial levels in the water.
Now, we spoke to the Surfrider
Foundation about what happens
if you don't avoid the water.
What it looks
like if you don't, it can be anything from
ear infections, eye infections, skin issues.
So that was Alex fair.
And again with the Surfrider Foundation,
who recommends staying out of the water
on any beach for three days after a major
rain event like the one we're expecting.
This water here in Imperial Beach is sampled
daily and it's very common when rain comes,
so does the closure of this beach
due to the sewage from Mexico.
Now, the warning for today also
states environmental conditions,
including S sweeps that are present.
They say the storm is expected
to bring powerful winds.
Their Surfrider Foundation says
when they get those big waves,
they ask people to be honest with their
abilities unless they know they can tackle
what the ocean is about to throw at them.
So please be aware again.
Back out here. Live as already raining.
That storm is being felt in Imperial Beach.
There are warnings here many
times when the sun comes up,
we still steal people in the water.
Of course we're going to be
keeping an eye out for them.
Let's head over to Chris Grove.
He's including Mesa right now with
tips on how to prepare for this storm.
Chris?
Yeah. Thank you so much, Dana Marie.
And I think the biggest thing is
to be aware of your surroundings.
Make sure that you're paying attention
to what the road conditions are.
Look, it's raining right now,
so if you got to drive to work,
drive a little bit slower.
Make sure, of course, you are being careful.
Now, the other thing that
you have to watch out for,
especially when you're driving,
is that standing water, that ponding water.
Make sure that you are avoiding
that as best as you can.
Now, if you're on the freeway,
if you're on surface roads,
that's going to be a different.
We know, of course,
that sometimes you may not be able
to avoid it on those freeways.
But back to those surface roads,
if you see that standing water,
try to find a different route because
you don't know how deep it could be.
For instance, where we are here,
convoy and engineer,
this is an area that it's not
just littered with potholes.
When it rains,
it can also start to flood
in those floodwaters.
It doesn't take much for you to
lose control of your vehicle
or even lose your vehicle.
And that's something that we've mostly
seen actually out in Fashion Valley.
You know,
right there by the mall,
there's a number of different areas
right by the San Diego River that
tend to get that standing water and
people year after year continue to
drive through that and damage their
vehicle or watch their vehicle stall out.
Now on the flip side,
we know that rural San Diego
County is also preparing for this.
We actually spoke with Cal Fire
yesterday about what they could
do and a lot of it is trying to
make sure that your drainage,
your culverts,
that all of that are cleared
before today's rain event.
With the amount of water that could
be coming off or out of the sky,
I mean there could be roads
that are flooded that the county
doesn't even know about yet.
So definitely don't try
and cross any water there.
Even downtown with people,
well there's the low levels
right by the Santiago River,
the people that try and think
they can drive through and
they get stranded out there.
So definitely don't try and
drive through bodies of water.
Even if you have 4 wheel drive,
go around and find an alternate route.
And of course, we're going
to be monitoring the roads,
any flooding that might be going on,
any accidents that might occur as as well.
So continue to stay with CBS 8 this
morning as we continue to see exactly
what may happen with today's storm.