In Balboa Park today the rain stopped shortly after noon. I happened to get off the bus right then, and I started my afternoon walk through the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden.
Beads of water gleamed on leaves, and on the flowers that were still in bloom as winter approaches. Many petals had already fallen to the soil.
Some of the roses, having grown taller than my head, mingled with the storm clouds that were passing to the east.
Here are a handful of photos…
…
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 X.
The views this morning from the Imperial Beach Pier were dramatic!
Stormy weather brought a procession of very dark clouds, through which bright sunshine penetrated. The waves were pretty big, too, as you can see from these photographs!
Yes, some surfers were out. I saw a KEEP OUT OF WATER sign posted on the beach by the County of San Diego. For their sake, I hope those surfers don’t become sick from the rain’s runoff and all that raw sewage coming from the Tijuana River.
Anyway, the storm clouds, light and breaking surf resulted in great photos!
When I arrived on the Imperial Beach Pier, I saw a rainbow!
A few minutes after I left the pier, a big cell arrived and there was a long-lasting downpour. My final photo was taken from the shelter of a bus stop on Seacoast Drive.
…
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 X.
In September, 2014, a powerful microburst struck Mission Valley, destroying many trees along the San Diego River.
San Diego’s first real winter storm of 2025 has arrived. A whole lot of rain is anticipated, especially tomorrow evening.
Storms in Southern California are usually big news. Our climate is naturally arid, so we could always use the precipitation. But there can be destructive flooding. That’s what happens when people live in what is essentially a desert.
It can be hard to remember that places now lush with landscaping and trees supported mostly sagebrush before human development.
Cool San Diego Sights is now almost 12 years old. I’ve had many opportunities to take photographs during stormy weather.
These are a few of my most dramatic photos.
In February, 2016, very high winds drove boats into the rocks along San Diego’s Embarcadero.In February, 2019, a big storm left debris under the Los Peñasquitos Lagoon bridge at Torrey Pines State Beach.In January, 2024, Mission Center Road became flooded near the San Diego River. Cars were stranded.In Februrary, 2019, Dan Plante of KUSI News was reporting at a flooded Mission Center Road.In February, 2024, guys from The Weather Channel were reporting from a flooded Fashion Valley Road.In January, 2016, cars were flooded in the lower level of the Fashion Valley shopping mall parking garage.In January, 2018, I spotted many umbrellas during rain in downtown San Diego.In January, 2018, cleanup at the Omni San Diego Hotel was required after a storm.In January, 2021, extremely high winds bent palm trees in downtown San Diego.In February, 2020, dark clouds over the ocean beyond Pacific Beach’s Crystal Pier portended a storm.In October, 2021, dark clouds hovered over Balboa Park as a storm gathered.In October, 2021, rain fell heavily at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, while a small audience on the dry stage listened to an organ concert and distant lightning.
…
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 X.
There’s a fascinating sign at the end of Broadway Pier in downtown San Diego. It’s located near scientific equipment used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to collect meteorological and sea level data in real time.
When I read the sign recently, I was surprised that this San Diego Bay tide station was moved to its present location in 2018. It belongs to the National Water Level Observation Network, a system of over 200 stations situated around the United States. The particular tide station has the capacity to support tsunami monitoring. Sensors collect and transmit data to NOAA every six minutes via a satellite antenna. If you want to see that real time data, click here.
The station also gathers information concerning water temperature and barometric pressure, which is very helpful in forecasting the weather.
…
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 X.
A crew from The Weather Channel was in San Diego this morning, covering flooding in Mission Valley caused by the rain-swollen San Diego River. It rained much of last night.
The Weather Channel had arrived for live storm coverage, aiming their cameras at high water passing treacherously over Fashion Valley Road.
I had twenty minutes to wait for a bus at the nearby transit center, so I walked down toward the river to check things out for myself. I received some smiles!
I then took a photo from the pedestrian bridge across the river to Town and Country Park, and another from the elevated Fashion Valley trolley station platform.
I had a couple more minutes, so I checked out the flooded Fashion Valley parking structure. It was actually designed to flood, believe it or not! Fortunately, no cars were caught in the water on the lowest level.
In the middle of the day, two tornado warnings were sent out to phones around the city. Apparently no tornadoes actually formed, although someone on the radio said they saw a very dark, low, rotating cloud in Spring Valley..
Was there a rainbow warning? There should have been!
Late in the afternoon, I saw how Mission Center Road was really flooded by the San Diego River. It had rained off and on all day. That car was almost completely submerged.
Please stay safe! More rain to come!
…
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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
It rained very heavily in San Diego today. I heard that some coastal areas received up to four inches of rain. That’s a staggering amount of water in less than 24 hours for our naturally arid climate.
Not surprisingly, many parts of the city flooded. A couple of highways partially closed. All three trolley lines had service disruptions.
Severe flooding often occurs in Mission Valley as the San Diego River rapidly swells. As you can see in my photos, that happened again.
Late this afternoon I observed two cars half underwater where Mission Center Road crosses the San Diego River. I hope those drivers are okay.
Holding my umbrella, I then walked along the leaf-strewn pathway beside the swollen river.
The above sign west of Mission Center Road explains the San Diego River’s peculiarities, and why periodic flooding is actually helpful:
A River in Flood
Under historical conditions, the seasonal variation in San Diego’s rainfall creates strong fluctuation in the amount of water flowing within the San Diego River. The low rainfall and the geologic composition allowed for the river to run below ground during much of the year; this lead to the River’s nickname, the Upside Down River.
Habitats and vegetation adapted to flooding in the winter and subsurface flow in the summer. Flooding helped restore the natural river bottom, flushed out debris, created new sand bars and kept the river healthy.
Large flooding events were common and are natural along the river course. Over time, with the construction of regional reservoirs, El Capitan in 1934 and San Vicente in 1943, these large flooding event have been reduced and flows constrained.
Every year we’re reminded: Avoid driving in flooded areas!
…
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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
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.
…
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!
It’s a breezy and drizzly New Year’s Day in San Diego. But a visit to Balboa Park proved to be just as wonderful as ever!
I was surprised that a few museums were open. Several studios in Spanish Village were also open. And, of course, there was the reliable two o’clock Sunday concert at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, where, due to the threat of rain, audience members got to sit right up close to the guest organist on stage!
The photo captions describe what I experienced…
Not the usual Sunday crowd on El Prado, but still pretty busy.Roger, a regular Balboa Park busker, somehow managed to escape again!Leaves and puddles in front of a colorful Spanish Village studio.Gallery 21 was open. The 26th Annual Exhibition of 7 Printmakers continues through tomorrow, January 2, 2023. (I’ll be blogging about it shortly.)I was greeted by a smile in Studio 9. Glass bottles were being converted into cool wind chimes!A videographer records a street musician on El Prado.The Palisades part of Balboa Park was unusually quiet on New Year’s Day.Color in a tree and on the grass is a reminder that winter has arrived in San Diego.Guest organist Jeobon Hwang rehearses before the Sunday afternoon Spreckels Organ concert.Jaebon Hwang, organist at First United Methodist Church of San Diego, comes on stage.I got to sit up close. The mighty Spreckels Organ thundered music directly into my bones!Some people listening on the benches have umbrellas at the ready.A flawless performance of classical music by one of San Diego’s outstanding organists!
…
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!
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…
Cool San Diego Sights! 