A winter storm is moving out of the San Diego area Friday but brought much-needed rainfall and gusty winds that led to some flooding and downed trees. As of late morning, the most powerful storm of the season had dropped anywhere from a tenth of an inch to nearly three inches of rain across the county over its three-day stay over the region.

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

The region was getting drenched Thursday by an atmospheric river — a column of moisture out of the west that flowed into north coastal San Diego County just after 5 p.m. and was expected to spread