A frigid winter storm continued to deliver widespread rain, mountain snow and whipping winds to the San Diego area Thursday, with similarly cold and wet conditions expected to continue into the weekend.
As of 8 a.m. Thursday, the unsettled atmospheric system had dropped nearly an inch of rainfall in some areas and more than a foot of snow in others, the National Weather Service reported.
The top two-day rain totals, according to the NWS, included 0.97 of an inch in Alpine; 0.85 in Campo and Pine Valley; 0.83 at Lake Wohlford; 0.82 in the Palomar area; 0.79 in Julian and 0.77 at Henshaw Dam.
Over the period, the bands of dark clouds out of the north dropped 13 inches of snow on Mount Laguna; eight to 10 inches on Palomar Mountain; and about four inches in both Julian and Warner Springs.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, when the heavy winds were at their height, the county experienced gusts up to 84 mph in the mountains, 67 mph in the inland valleys, 60 mph in the desert and 56 mph along the coast.
The storm also brought record low maximum temperatures on Wednesday, when it only reached 29 degrees on Palomar Mountain; 31 at Lake Cuyamaca; 49 in Alpine; 51 in Ramona; and 53 in El Cajon and Vista.
The rain and mountain snow will become heavier and more widespread Friday and Saturday, according to the weather service, which has issued a winter-storm warning for the East County highlands through Saturday afternoon. Traveling in those areas over the period "could be very difficult to impossible," the federal agency warned.
The precipitation will taper off late Saturday and Sunday, with more local rain possible next week, forecasters advised.
