Tag: storms

City life on a wet, very windy morning.

San Diego is experiencing very high winds today. Combined with morning showers, including a sudden bout of hail, the icy wind made walking downtown a bit of an adventure.

I ventured outside after the hail. Nevertheless, my usual San Diego jacket felt far too thin. And crazy wind gusts almost knocked me over several times!

Flags were whipping around, most people were bundled up and my hat flew off twice. As you can see in the next photo, it’s Ash Wednesday.

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Photo memories on this First Day of Winter.

Today is the Winter Solstice. The shortest day and longest night. The first day of winter.

I’ve taken many winter photographs around San Diego over the years. My camera has captured wild storms and their aftermath, high winds and crashing waves, snow in the mountains, umbrellas in the city, and the unique beauty of winter in nature.

Would you like to see some of these photos? Click the upcoming links and you’ll be transported back in time…

Click the following links to explore past winters…

Winter beauty by the San Diego River.

Snowing in Balboa Park?

A hike in Tecolote Canyon near Genesee.

Walking through Little Italy in morning rain.

Photos of high winds downtown.

Balboa Park’s magical winter garden.

A city reflected from puddles.

Early winter and three Santee bridges.

Snow and winter beauty at Cuyamaca.

Boats destroyed by El Nino winds in San Diego.

Los Peñasquitos Lagoon between winter storms.

Glimpses of nature’s beauty after a storm.

Storm brings huge surf to Ocean Beach Pier.

Morning rain and umbrellas downtown.

Photos of San Diego River, after three storms.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Evening storm clouds from the Cabrillo Bridge.

Enjoy this collection of photographs that I took yesterday evening, as I walked into Balboa Park across the Cabrillo Bridge.

The sun was setting and clouds were darkening as a storm rolled in. The early October storm would produce spectacular lightning all around San Diego.

As I began east across the Cabrillo Bridge, the California Tower was illuminated by the very last rays of sunlight. I periodically turned west to catch sunset color above Bankers Hill.

Knowing that rain was on the way, I debated heading back home. I’m so thankful I didn’t. Because the lightning-filled concert at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion turned out to be something very rare and special–likely one of the most extraordinary concerts in the organ’s 106 year history. Yesterday I blogged about that experience here!

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Lightning and thunder at magical Spreckels concert!

Tonight an unusual, truly magical concert was held in Balboa Park at the outdoor Spreckels Organ Pavilion.

As lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, internationally renowned organist Ahreum Han answered with her own own thunder for a small audience sheltered against the storm up on the pavilion stage.

Those of us who experienced this extraordinary concert, part of the 33rd San Diego International Organ Festival, sat almost directly under the majestic Spreckels Organ pipes and mere feet away from Ahreum Han as she played elegantly, easily, masterfully.

As you can imagine, the unusual circumstances provided a once-in-lifetime opportunity for music lovers. My goosebumps were on overdrive.

The music flowed like bright lightning from the fingers of Ahreum, and at times it seemed she was playing a duet with mighty nature. When she concluded each piece, thunder joined the applause.

You had to be there.

It was an experience an adventurous few, who refused to be deterred by a threat of lightning and rain, will never ever forget.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Soviet submarine at Maritime Museum nears end of life.

A sign posted on San Diego’s Embarcadero near the Maritime Museum of San Diego indicates their Russian Foxtrot Class attack submarine B-39 has continued to rust, causing the historic vessel to near the end of its life.

A storm this winter that tore away sections of the outer metal skin has accelerated the submarine’s degradation. I believe it was the storm that I recorded back in January here. You can see waves in usually calm San Diego Bay breaking against the submarine.

It’s hoped that as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, museum visitors will have one more chance to take a look inside the B-39. I learned that once the submarine has reached the end of its life, it will likely be taken to a shipyard to recover whatever might be salvageable. I also learned the Maritime Museum has thoroughly recorded the interior of the vessel, to preserve a very important part of Cold War history.

Learn more about this submarine by checking out the museum web page concerning it here.

I enjoyed a self-guided tour inside the Foxtrot-class submarine nearly five years ago, and posted some interesting photographs. If you’d like to see them, click here.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Photos of high winds downtown.

San Diego is now experiencing very unsettled winter weather. High winds, rain, even thunderstorms and a funnel cloud or two. Lots of snow in the mountains to the east.

Today the wind throughout downtown was unusually strong. Especially by the water. Not quite the devastating winds we experienced one night five years ago, when numerous boats were driven into the rocks along the Embaracadero and sank. (You can see those tragic photographs here.)

But I saw flags flapping wildly, palm trees bending as if they were made of rubber, and I had to constantly hold onto my hat!

When I reached San Diego Bay, which is usually calm, I was surprised by the stormy, foaming waves. It always amazes me that deep water can be disturbed powerfully by wind along its surface.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Dark storm clouds off Crystal Pier.

Today I enjoyed a very cool guided mural walk in Pacific Beach. I arrived early, however, so I walked along the beach just before a heavy wave of rain arrived.

As I approached Crystal Pier, the remaining sunlight on the breaking surf and the pier’s rows of white cottages contrasted very strongly with the black storm clouds. The photos I captured, just moments before a heavy rain, are visually interesting.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Photo memories of San Diego winters.

Yes, winter does come to San Diego. It begins in about one week. Winters in coastal Southern California are generally mild, due to our arid climate, and the moderating influence of the nearby Pacific Ocean.

Winter storms tend to be short-lived, gray and drizzly. In San Diego, if you want to see occasional snow, you need to head to the mountains of East County, and even then the returning sun and dry desert winds melt it in a day or two. Temperatures at the lower elevations almost never reach freezing.

However, winter storms in San Diego have been known to provide drama!

There have been unusually violent windstorms, huge surf and flooding. A few of those memories have been preserved in photographs on this blog. And so have examples of winter’s unique beauty!

To see photos from past winters, click the following links:

Snow and winter beauty at Cuyamaca.

Boats destroyed by El Niño winds in San Diego.

Photos of San Diego River, after three storms.

Glimpses of nature’s beauty after a storm.

Photos of winter along San Diego River.

A winter’s day full of magical light.

Storm brings huge surf to Ocean Beach Pier.

Amazing vistas atop Mount Soledad.

Signs of the coming big winter storm.

Los Peñasquitos Lagoon between winter storms.

Winter beauty at the Japanese Friendship Garden.

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Between morning showers downtown.

The brunt of our latest storm hit yesterday and overnight. This morning a few brief showers were passing through downtown.

I walked from Cortez Hill down into canyons of skyscrapers with my umbrella at the ready.

Today is Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, and it appears few people had to work. This morning downtown felt like an early Saturday or Sunday. Few cars and empty sidewalks. Very quiet.

And a little wet!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Dramatic clouds, a change in weather.

San Diego’s first “winter storm” is here. This morning the clouds were already gathering, making for a sensational sunrise. I got a beautiful photo from the top of Cortez Hill!

A bit later in the morning, bright slanting sunlight made the clouds over Mission Valley very dramatic. I took a few photos near Hazard Center (you can see the trolley line) and the San Diego River. I captured some cool reflections!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!