A cold, late-season upper-level low moved inland over southern California on the 14th and 15th, bringing another round of winter storm-like conditions and precipitation. The initial round of rainfall occurred the afternoon of the 14th, heaviest in Orange County and the Inland Empire.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS SGX wrote it up.
A cold, late-season upper-level low moved inland over southern California on the 14th and 15th, bringing another round of winter storm-like conditions and precipitation. The initial round of rainfall occurred the afternoon of the 14th, heaviest in Orange County and the Inland Empire. Additional intense cells developed (with thunder) between 0500-0700 PST from Oceanside to Temecula and Point Loma to El Cajon. Lindbergh Field received 1.3 inches in 1 hour and 0.71 in 9 minutes during this time, setting records. Impacts included a debris flow near Fallbrook along Highway 395, 6 high water rescues reported by Lifeguards from Midway to Mission Hills and North Park, and flooding/road closure again at Spring Valley Quarry Road dip and Escondido Creek on Country Club Drive. The Padres baseball game experienced a rare 2-hour delay as well, due to the rain. The Fashion Valley river gage on the San Diego River reached 7 feet with road closures and golf course flooding in the area. A flash flood watch was in effect for the 15th due to the widespread showers in recently burned areas and steep terrain. A flash flood warning was issued on the 14th for southwestern San Diego County due to a thunderstorm with heavy rain.|In addition to the rain, winds were very strong, gusting in the upper 50s and 60s mph below the E-W passes and along the desert mountain slopes.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS San Diego, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 14, 4:45 PM PST, 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
545 PM PDT THU MAY 14 2015
UPDATED TO INCLUDE FLASH FLOOD WATCH CHANGES
.SYNOPSIS... A COLD LATE-SEASON STORM MOVING ACROSS SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA WILL BRING COOL...CLOUDY CONDITIONS WITH PERIODS OF RAIN
SHOWERS THROUGH FRIDAY...LOCALLY HEAVY. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE
ALSO POSSIBLE. SNOW WILL FALL IN THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS OF SAN
BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES AND STRONG...GUSTY WINDS WILL
OCCUR AT TIMES IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. FAIR AND COOL WEATHER
WILL OCCUR SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. CLOUDS INCREASE AGAIN ON MONDAY WITH
A FEW SHOWERS POSSIBLE...THEN MOSTLY FAIR WEATHER WILL RETURN
THROUGH MID-WEEK WITH GUSTY WINDS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS.
&&
.DISCUSSION...FOR EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA INCLUDING
ORANGE... SAN DIEGO...WESTERN RIVERSIDE AND SOUTHWESTERN SAN
BERNARDINO COUNTIES...
FROM PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...ISOLATED LIGHT SHOWERS CONTINUE TO MOVE
NE ACROSS THE REGION WITH ONLY SMALL ACCUMULATIONS IN MOST
LOCATIONS. HOWEVER...A SIZABLE BAND OF ORGANIZED SHOWERS IS MOVING
ONSHORE INTO ORANGE COUNTY...WITH THE SOUTHERN END OF THE BAND
LIKELY TO MOVE INTO SAN DIEGO COUNTY WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO.
THESE SHOWERS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE LIGHT TO MODERATE RAINFALL. GUSTY
WEST WINDS CONTINUE IN THE MTNS AND DESERTS WITH SOME OF THE WIND-
PRONE LOCATIONS REPORTING GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH.
SHOWERS WILL INCREASE IN COVERAGE ACROSS THE COASTAL AND VALLEYS
ZONES AS THE FIRST SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVES IN FROM THE WEST THIS
AFTERNOON. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS REMAIN FARTHER TO THE WEST...ABOUT
180 MILES NW OF SAN DIEGO. OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS...WE CAN
EXPECT BANDS OF SHOWERS WITH EMBEDDED TSTMS TO MOVE ONSHORE. SNOW
LEVELS WILL FALL TO BETWEEN 5500 AND 6000 FEET THIS AFTERNOON AND
SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW ARE LIKELY ABOVE 6000 FEET.
THE SECOND SHORTWAVE SEEMS TO BE DEEPENING THE TROUGH MORE THAN
PREVIOUSLY INDICATED...AND THIS HAS RESULTED IN A MORE SOUTHERLY
TRAJECTORY OF THE ASSOCIATED WAVE. AS A RESULT...THE NUMERICAL
MODELS HAVE ADJUSTED THE LOCATIONS OF THE GREATEST PRECIP FARTHER
SOUTH. RAINFALL AMOUNTS FOR FRIDAY WERE LOWERED IN SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTY AND NORTHERN PARTS OF ORANGE AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES...BUT SAN
DIEGO COUNTY REMAINS IN A FAVORABLE LOCATION FOR THE HEAVIER SHOWERS
AND GREATER ACCUMULATIONS ON FRIDAY. STORM TOTAL AMOUNTS WILL RANGE
FROM 0.75" TO 1.5 INCHES...WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS TO 2 INCHES MAINLY
ALONG THE COASTAL SLOPES.
SNOW LEVELS FALL TO BETWEEN 5500-6000 FEET WITH SNOW ACCUMULATIONS
IN THE MOUNTAINS...MAINLY ABOVE 6000 FEET. SNOW TOTALS FOR THE SAN
BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS ARE EXPECTED TO RANGE BETWEEN 2 AND 8
INCHES...MAINLY DEPENDING ON ELEVATION. SEE THE WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY FOR MORE DETAILS.
THE SYSTEM WILL DRIFT EAST FRIDAY NIGHT WITH SHOWERS ENDING BY
MIDNIGHT IN MOST AREAS. A WEAK...TRANSIENT RIDGE SATURDAY WILL BRING
FAIR AND SLIGHTLY WARMER WEATHER SAT AND SUN. ANOTHER SHORTWAVE
TROUGH WILL AGAIN BRING CLOUDS AND COOLER WEATHER FOR MON. MEAN
TROUGHING WILL PREVAIL OVER THE SOUTHWEST MOST OF NEXT WEEK WHICH
WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES BELOW NORMAL. THE MARINE LAYER WILL REMAIN
FAIRLY DEEP AND STRONG ONSHORE FLOW WILL BRING GUSTY WINDS IN THE
MOUNTAINS/DESERTS. MODELS KEEP MOST OF THE PRECIP NORTH OF THE AREA
THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.
&&
.AVIATION...
141952Z...THROUGH 15/1200 UTC...BKN-OVC CLOUD DECKS IN THE 2000-
12000 FT MSL LAYER OVER AND WEST OF THE MTNS...WITH INCREASING
SHOWERS...POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS...MTN OBSCURATION...LOCAL VIS 3-5
SM. CB TOPS 25000-30000 FT MSL. THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE STRONG
DOWNDRAFTS...SMALL HAIL AND LOCAL VIS AOB 1 SM. DURING THAT TIME-
PERIOD...THE DESERTS WILL HAVE BKN-OVC CLOUDS AOA 10000 FT MSL WITH
A POSSIBLE ISOL -SHRA OR TWO AT TIMES PRODUCING LOCAL CIGS DOWN TO
AROUND 5000-8000 FT MSL. AFTER 15/1200 UTC...SHOWER INTENSITY AND
THUNDERSTORM CHANCES INCREASING...WITH BKN-OVC CLOUDS WITHIN THE
2000-20000 FT MSL LAYER OVER MOST AREAS...AND AREAS OF VIS/CIGS 2-4
SM/1500-2000 FT AGL. DESERTS LIKELY TO SEE SOME SHOWERS AND POSSIBLY
SOME THUNDERSTORMS AS WELL. FORECAST CONFIDENCE IS MODERATE.
WEST WINDS 25-35 KT WITH GUSTS 40-50 KT OVER MTN RIDGES...THROUGH
AND BELOW MTN PASSES/CANYONS...ALONG DESERT SLOPES AND INTO ADJACENT
DESERT AREAS WILL CREATE STG-SVR UDDFS/LLWS AND POSSIBLE ROTORS OVER
AND EAST OF THE MTNS THROUGH 15/0300 UTC. WINDS AND ASSOCIATED
UDDFS/LLWS GRADUALLY DIMINISHING AFTER 15/0300 UTC.
&&
.MARINE...
1252 PM...A STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING SOME HAZARDOUS WEATHER TO THE
COASTAL WATERS TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY...INCLUDING SHOWERS AND ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS. THUNDERSTORMS MAY BRING SMALL HAIL...GUSTY
WINDS...FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL.
WATERSPOUTS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. A MARINE WEATHER
STATEMENT...LAXMWSSGX...HAS BEEN POSTED. GUSTY SOUTH TO
SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS OF 25-30 KT WILL LIKELY DEVELOP FRIDAY MORNING
AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. IN FACT...SOME LOCAL 35 KT GUSTS
WILL BE POSSIBLE LATE FRIDAY MORNING AND EARLY FRIDAY AFTERNOON.
THESE WINDS...IN ADDITION TO AN INCOMING SHORT-PERIOD NORTHWEST WIND
SWELL...WILL COMBINE TO MAKE FOR CHOPPY AND HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS FOR
SMALL CRAFT. A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY HAS BEEN
ISSUED...LAXMWWSGX...AND GOES INTO EFFECT FRIDAY MORNING. WINDS AND
SEAS WILL DIMINISH FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...WITH NO ADDITIONAL
HAZARDOUS MARINE WEATHER EXPECTED THROUGH MONDAY.
&&
.SKYWARN...
SKYWARN ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED FRIDAY.
&&
.SGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CA...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 PM PDT
FRIDAY FOR RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
MOUNTAINS.
FLASH FLOOD WATCH FROM 4 AM PDT FRIDAY THROUGH 6 PM FRIDAY FOR
RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS-SANTA
ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 8 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR COACHELLA VALLEY-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SAN
GORGONIO PASS NEAR BANNING.
PZ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 5 AM FRIDAY TO 5 AM PDT SATURDAY FOR
WATERS FROM SAN MATEO POINT TO THE MEXICAN BORDER EXTENDING
30 TO 60 NM OUT INCLUDING SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 5 AM TO 11 PM PDT FRIDAY FOR COASTAL
WATERS FROM SAN MATEO POINT TO THE MEXICAN BORDER AND OUT
TO 30 NM.
&&
PUBLIC...PG
AVIATION/MARINE...HARRISONThe San Diego radar (KNKX), 25 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:58 UTC.
3 flash flood, 1 heavy rain, 1 debris flow. Local standard time, as filed.
There were reports of San Diego fire and police responding to multiple (6 incidents) swift water rescues in the Midway and Mission Hills neighborhoods.
San Diego Lindbergh Field reported 1.30 inches of rain from 1900-2000 PST. The 6 hour period prior totaled 1.57 inches. The 9 minute period within that main hour, totaled 0.71 inches, which is near the 1/100 return interval.
San Diego Fire and San Diego city lifeguard swift rescue reported at least 3 vehicles under water and responded to high water rescues. The Midway area at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot was closed with a vehicle under 4 feet of water. A vehicle floated and damaged other vehicles. Trash cans were also reported floating. Homes on Torrance and Reynard were flooded with some resident evacuations and garage and minor home damage reported.
A resident reported flooding on El Cajon Boulevard in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego. Based on photos, the water appears to be around 6 to 8 inches deep.
CHP reported a mudslide and rock slide along Old Highway 395 at Dulin Road due to heavy rainfall.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in California, May 2015
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 582575, 582581, 582607, 582608, 582618.