[pct-l] Snow in Mt Laguna

[Brick Robbins <brick@fastpack.com>]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/sat/index.html
 Campers expecting June gloom get spring snow

 By Jonathan Heller 
 STAFF WRITER 

 June 5, 1999 


 MOUNT LAGUNA -- The first thing David McVadon wanted to do yesterday morning
 when he woke up in his tent at Laguna Campground was check his calendar.

 "What is this, June 4th? This really shocked me," said McVadon of Santee, stowing
 gear in the back of his pickup as his family broke camp. "When I opened the tailgate
 this morning, there was probably 3 to 4 inches of snow in the truck bed."

 A freak June snowstorm caught people on Mount Laguna and in surrounding areas by
 surprise early yesterday, sending scores of campers fleeing for lower elevations.

 Three inches of snow fell on the mountains Thursday night into yesterday, setting a
 record in San Diego County, weather forecasters said. The latest date for snowfall
 previously had been May 28, in 1971.

 Meteorologists blamed the weird weather on an unusual cooling trend that made last
 month the coldest May on record in the county since 1964.

 At the Laguna Campground, the McVadons were among the few who actually slept
 through the storm. Several tents collapsed during the night from the weight of the wet,
 slushy snow, McVadon said.

 Even though the unusual precipitation cut short her camping trip, Deb Owens of
 Ramona didn't let it dampen her spirits. She and her family cracked jokes and marveled
 at the snowy surroundings while they packed up their tents and cooking gear.

 The Owenses were awakened during the night by a crashing sound. It was the
 makeshift shelter they had built over their picnic table, falling over from the snow and
 high winds.

 "It's been kind of an adventure," Owens said. "Not one I'd like to repeat, though."

 Chances are she won't have to. National Weather Service Forecaster Miguel Miller
 called the storm "oddly localized," dropping measurable snow only on Mount Laguna,
 which is about 6,000 feet above sea level. Cuyamaca Rancho State Park reported light
 sleet, and downtown Julian got some snow, but none of it stuck.

 "Interesting, huh?" Miller said.

 The only other spots in Southern California to get a dusting were the higher mountain
 peaks in far northern Los Angeles County on Thursday afternoon.

 "Basically, you've got weather systems more common in February or March . . . driving
 storms southward from the Gulf of Alaska when they would normally go into British
 Columbia and Washington state," said Bruce Rockwell at the National Weather Service.

 Scientists have said West Coast weather is under the influence of Pacific Ocean
 temperatures that remain out of whack from the 1997-98 El Niņo warming phenomenon.

 Campers who are contemplating giving up their reservations this weekend need not
 worry, Miller said. The forecast is for warmer, drier conditions with plenty of sunshine
 over the next couple of days. High temperatures will range from the upper 60s in the
 mountains to the 70s inland and along the coast.

 That's about 40 degrees warmer than it was at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park yesterday
 morning, where park aide Gary Martin stared bleakly at the abandoned, soggy
 campsites fringed with slush.

 "The old-timers up here in Julian say you're not safe until after Mother's Day," Martin
 said. "Guess we'll have to recalculate that now."

 The California Highway Patrol did not immediately know how many accidents were
 caused by the snow, an officer answering the telephone at the El Cajon district office
 said.

 CHP Officer Craig Meier, patrolling Mount Laguna early yesterday, said traffic,
 fortunately, was very light.

 "You're only the third car I've seen all morning," he said.

 The first one was a white Acura sedan, resting on its roof, driver nowhere to be found.
 The second was the tow truck he called to haul it away.

 The fourth car Meier saw was Deputy John Seiferth's, whom Meier had called to
 investigate a suspicious safe found in the trunk of the Acura.

 The driver, who showed up on foot shortly before Seiferth and was detained by Meier,

 claimed he didn't own the safe and had no idea how it got into his trunk, Seiferth said.

 The deputy confiscated the safe and released the driver, who was unhurt in the
 accident.

 The lack of traffic also was apparent at the Laguna Mountain Lodge, whose general
 store had served only one customer by 9 a.m., said employee Les Barrios.

 But the snow didn't have much impact on local resident Mike Leifheit, who walked out
 of the store carrying a six-pack of beer and eating an ice cream bar.

 "Hey," he said with a shrug, "it's supposed to be summer."

 The Associated Press contributed to this report. 



 Copyright 1999 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. 



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