Almost 500 motorists remained stranded on a mountain freeway when a storm, which came out of nowhere, hit San Diego County pouring rain and snow triggering flows of mud which invaded another highway. No injuries or other damages were recorded.  

The weather was expected to be clear by Friday.

A stretch of the Interstate 8 long of 27 miles which goes through the mountains in the eastern county was reopened early Friday after being closed for 12 hours.  

The cars were escorted by the California Highway Patrol, while big trucks were still not allowed to pass. After 4 p.m. Thursday the freeway was shut down due to the snow and ice which made the traffic impossible.

California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Bettencourt said: "It was just a big dump of snow, real fast," the Associated Press reports.

The cars skidded off the road and hundreds of motorists stopped in their tracks.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said that the rescue teams went from car to car and almost 30 people were deployed to temporary shelters made at a fire station and a casino.

According to Bettencourt, early Friday authorities believed that all the motorists were found, but the rescuers were still looking for cars that could have moved to the side of the road.

Due to the abandoned cars, the snow plows were stranded.

Bettencourt said: "Now we have a virtual parking lot of empty vehicles. You've got big rigs that are jackknifed. So it's going to be a pretty daunting task."

Other highways were also hit by the storm. According to authorities, 179 crashes were recorded Thursday between midnight and 9 p.m.

A stretch of the road between Poway and Ramona of 8 miles was shut down by authorities because of mudslides. Due to the heavy rain almost 2 feet of mud and rocks ended on the roadway.

The storm was triggered by a low-pressure system which came from the Gulf of Alaska and moved into Southern California.