San Diego County was predicted to get the most rainfall of the season so far from this week’s atmospheric river weather system, and the storm did not disappoint.

A winter storm brought much-needed rainfall – 3 inches in some areas – along with high winds to the San Diego region Thursday.

To prepare for the spate of inclement conditions, the city of San Diego has been monitoring some 46,000 storm drains and will preemptively close flood-prone Mission Valley roads if deemed necessary.

The first significant storm of winter will drop heavy rain across much of County from roughly 9 p.m. to midnight Thursday and produce showers Friday, temporarily easing the threat of wildfires but doing comparatively little to lift precipitation to seasonal levels,

Wednesday's rain will be gentle and relatively light, but on Thursday and Thursday night, heavier precipitation will spread southeastward across the area, according to the National Weather Service.

A flood watch is in effect until Thursday along the San Diego County coast, including San Diego, Carlsbad, Poway and Chula Vista.