Driver barely escapes creeping flash flood on San Diego freeway

This terrifying dashcam footage comes to us from San Diego, CA, where the state's short-term water woes have been solved this week with intense rain storms. YouTube user Mark Chagaris was driving down westbound Highway 23 between Fillmore and Moorpark, CA on Wednesday when the rains came. His dashboard camera was rolling as he slowly made his way around a bend in the road to see a creeping horror: Rising water that pushed mud and debris into the road and directly towards Chagaris' vehicle. The floodwater covered the road and marched towards Chagaris.

Chagaris perfectly summed up what happened in the video description when he wrote, "Mother Nature speaks loudly." Chagaris hit reverse but the waters seemed to be closing in on him. He quickly turned around and made his escape down the road, avoiding another geyser breaking over the highway barrier. San Diego is not alone in experiencing a deluge. Well over two inches of rain fell Wednesday on some mountain areas, including 3.5 inches in Angeles National Forest in Southern California. The storm dropped a foot of snow on ski resorts in San Bernardino County and around Lake Tahoe while causing dozens of crashes on slippery Nevada roads from Reno to Fallon. Flagstaff, AZ had 19 inches of snow on the ground; Grand Canyon National Park halted all shuttle bus service due to icy roads; and the Arizona desert saw its fourth straight day of rain.

California badly needs the rain. The state has been suffering through one of the worst droughts in recent history. Water rationing had become the new norm in the Gold Rush State. It seems like there's plenty of H2O to go around now, but officials warned residents against abandoning conservation efforts and reverting to wasteful water-use habits. The current El Nino system — a natural warming of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean that interacts with the atmosphere and changes weather worldwide — is being blamed for causing the mega storm.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.