San Diego County’s recent five-week winter dry spell had many people wondering whether the region was slipping back into drought. By Wednesday morning, the question is likely to be, “When will the rain go away?” The second wave of a Pacific storm system is expected to drench the entire county, mostly before dawn Wednesday, and drop 6 to 12 inches of snow on Mount Laguna by early evening. And, once again, the winds will howl. Some gusts could hit 60 to 70 mph in the backcountry, the National Weather Service says. A wind advisory will be in effect from 8 p.m. Tuesday to 8 a.m. Wednesday. That won’t be the end of it. A third wave of rain is expected to pass through the county Thursday. It will be the weakest of the three. But the cumulative totals from this week’s choppy storm could be impressive, locally speaking. San Diego could end up with 1.5 inches of precipitation. The figure would make a Seattle resident snicker. But the moisture will further reduce the risk of wildfires in a region that typically gets by on comparatively little rain. San Diego averages 9.79 inches of precipitation a year. The city was only 0.85 inches from that mark on Tuesday. As of Tuesday morning, the first wave of the storm had dropped 3.16 inches of rain on Julian, 1.88 inches on Ramona and 1.47 inches on Escondido during a two-day period that began on Monday. More than 100 trees in a palm tree grove in San Pasqual Valley were ignited by lightning strikes early Tuesday morning. (Cal Fire San Diego) A series of lightning strikes early Tuesday sparked a fire at a grove of palm trees in San Pasqual Valley, burning more than 100 trees, fire officials said. The fire was reported shortly after 3 a.m. at the property off Highland Valley Road. The trees caught fire after there were “multiple lightning strikes” in the area, said sheriff’s Lt. Jason Phillips. Fire crews from Escondido, San Diego and Cal Fire responded and put out the blaze, which charred around 2 acres. It did not spread to any structures, officials said. “Crews worked quickly and were able to keep the fire from spreading to another grove nearby,” said San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesperson Candace Hadley. She said no one was injured in the blaze. The rain will likely be gone by Friday. But maybe not for long. Early forecast models suggest that a new storm could be on its way by next Monday. “The storm window is still open,” said forecaster Adam Roser, “and it could be for the rest of February.” Staff writer Karen Kucher contributed to this report. ...read more read less