
This week’s rainstorms flooded low-lying portions of La Jolla Boulevard. Cars dipped into small ponds of water at the roundabouts and rivers of water ran parallel to the sidewalk. Tony Pace at Bird Rock Realty, on the corner of La Jolla Boulevard and Bird Rock Avenue, sandbagged his door and went home. He said the torrent of water flowing along the boulevard rushes up the crosswalk and into his front door. He’s pressed the city to install a storm drain at the crosswalk before a storm floods his office but he said he’s gotten nowhere. “I’ve been here since 1969; it’s not like I just moved in,” Pace said. “This is a problem that did not exist until they built the [roundabout] circles.” Rainwater also swamped Avenida de la Playa, but none of the restaurant owners interviewed reported flooding, including those at the Marine Room, Barbarella and Osteria Romantica. An estimated 45- to 50-foot palm tree snapped at its middle and toppled onto Girard Avenue outside Wells Fargo Bank around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19. “A bus drove right in front of [the tree] five seconds before it fell,” said Mike Musto, a teller at Wells Fargo. “It looked like termites had been eating it inside.” Large tree limbs were also reported falling on Torrey Pines Road, one narrowly missing a parked car. Another major rainstorm is expected this afternoon and Friday morning, but rain should taper off by Saturday morning. Thunder may be on the horizon today and hail on Friday. Winds are expected to average 20 to 25 miles per hour with gusty winds reaching 40 mph. Storms moving across the Pacific Ocean from the northwest — coupled with it being an El Niño year — is causing the massive rainstorms. Three to five inches of rain is expected to fall this week. Lindbergh Field typically receives 11 inches of rain annually, according to Dan Atkin, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San Diego. “We encourage everyone to take a quick look around their property and put their lids back on their trash cans so that debris doesn’t flow out and clog drains,” Harris said. “Make sure wood chips and mulch aren’t flowing out of the yard.” Waves may reach 15 to 20 feet this week, and a high surf advisory has been issued until 10 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 24. Meteorologists are also warning of coastal flooding following storms today and Friday.








