SAN DIEGO — A cold winter storm continues to bring light, scattered showers with unusually windy and cold conditions to San Diego County on this Valentine’s Day.

West winds are expected to peak Tuesday afternoon and evening with 35-45 mph and gusts of 80 mph expected in mountain areas. That paired with lower elevation snow will make travel difficult for Julian, Mt. Laguna and Pine Valley. Snow levels drop to 4,000 feet later Tuesday evening. Up to 1 inch of snow is expected mainly in areas above 5,000 ft.

It’s going to get very windy for the coastline Tuesday afternoon with wind gusts up to 45 mph coming off the ocean. High surf is hitting our beaches with breaking waves of 7-10 feet and a possibility of minor beach erosion.

This storm also brings very cold air pulled from Alaska with it. Temperatures Tuesday night could drop as low as 30 degrees in places like Ramona, Poway, El Cajon, Santee and La Mesa. Frost could form Tuesday night or early Wednesday, so residents are reminded to bring pets and plants inside. 

For the rain, we’re expecting very light accumulations with this system: generally less than a quarter inch. Showers are expected to fizzle out by early evening. 

Drier and slightly warmer conditions will take over Wednesday and Thursday.