Weather Alert for Heavy Rain & Possible Flooding Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve!

A First Alert Weather Alert is in place until 1pm Christmas Day as heavy rain from a strong Winter storm continues to move across the region. For the Coachella Valley, periods of moderate to locally heavy rain remain possible for this afternoon and evening, with roadway flooding a concern, especially along wash roads and poor-drainage areas.

There are a number of Flash Flood Watches nearby--currently the highest Flash flood risk is west and north of us, but the concern for rapid runoff and flooding cannot be ruled out locally.

A Flood Watch is in place here in the Coachella Valley until 10pm tonight.

I'm not terribly concerned about winds on the valley floor, however we'll see some strong southerly gusts through the evening around Joshua Tree, Twentynine Palms, the San Gorgonio Pass and especially around the San Bernadino Mountains.

Saturated ground and gusts up to 55-75mph are possible--watch for dangerous debris flows, down trees and potential power outages.

Rain gradually decreases tonight, but scattered showers are still expected into Christmas Day. Rain on Christmas Day should be lighter, though wet roads will still be something you're going to want to allow extra time for.

Another round of showers is possible Thursday night into Friday, bringing another rain chance to the valley. Snow levels will continue to fall in the mountains, which could impact high-elevation travel but will remain well above valley floors.

Looks like we'll start drying out into the weekend. Temperatures near seasonable, mainly in the 60s and low 70s.