New Year’s storm already drenching San Diego County

Another winter storm system rolled into Southern California on New Year’s Eve, expected to bring steady rain, possible thunderstorms, and pockets of heavy downpours to San Diego as locals prepared to ring in the new year.

Forecasters said the system will sweep through the region through Thursday morning, with scattered showers lingering into at least Friday, and potentially into the weekend.

Meteorologists said the storm could deliver periods of intense rainfall, along with isolated thunderstorms, before tapering off. By the time the system exits the region, much of the county could see between a half-inch and more than an inch of rain depending on elevation and location.

“Rainfall is now measurable at low elevations west of the mountains and will gradually become more intense through this evening, but moderate, occasionally heavy showers are unlikely until late tonight through Thursday morning,” the National Weather Service’s San Diego office said in a forecast discussion.

The NWS added that yet another storm is potentially on the horizon.

“Another Pacific storm system currently in the Gulf of Alaska will move closer to SoCal by this weekend, providing another chance for showers on Saturday morning and continue through the weekend.”

With rain in the forecast, the city of San Diego has activated its inclement weather shelter program. The program provides additional shelter capacity when specific weather conditions are met generally from November through March at the following locations:

— Living Water Church of the Nazarene, 1550 Market St., capacity for up to 28 adults. Check-in is at 8 p.m., with on-site reservations available from 1 to 4 p.m. Check-out is at 6:30 a.m.;

Joan Kroc Center, 1501 Imperial Ave., capacity for up to 61 adults, plus 11 beds for families with minor children and/or single women. Check-in begins at 4 p.m. and continues through the night until full. Check-out is at 5 a.m.; and

— Father Joe’s Villages Paul Mirabile Center, 1501 Imperial Ave., capacity for up to 62 adults. Check-in begins at 4 p.m. and continues through the night until full. Check-out is at 5 a.m.

People can go directly to the shelter locations to access a bed on a first-come, first-served basis.

The program is activated whenever the temperature is below 50 degrees and there is a 40% chance of rain, or when the temperature is 45 degrees or below regardless of the chance of rain. Shelters are also activated during exceptional weather conditions, such as when one or more inches of rain fall within 24 hours or there are sustained high winds.

Check-in and check-out times vary with shelter locations but usually most beds are opened in the late afternoon and must be vacated by early the next morning.