Overnight Winds Cause Damage Throughout Coachella Valley

Strong winds prompted the pilot of a Palm Springs- bound cargo plane to divert to another airfield and tore part of a roof from a home in Thousand Palms, as Inland Empire residents braces for another day of blustery conditions.

Gusts up to about 40 mph are forecast for this afternoon, and a National Weather Service wind advisory is effective through 8 p.m.

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Strong winds were blamed for an electrical outage in the east San Gorgonio Pass last night, leaving about 227 customers without power in the Whitewater area, Southern California Edison spokesman Charlie Coleman said.

Winds were gusting up to about 60 mph when a FedX pilot decided to give up on landing in Palm Springs and returned to Ontario airport in San Bernardino County.

The San Gorgonio Pass, one of the primary wind corridors in Southern California, is home to one of the nation’s largest wind farms. A forest of wind turbine towers blankets parts of Whitewater and north Palm Springs.

The California Highway Patrol has reopened Interstate 5 in the Grapevine area north of Los Angeles and is escorting cars through the mountain pass north of Los Angeles.

Hail, gusty winds, snow and black ice closed the main traffic route between Central and Southern California early Thursday.

Officer Francisco Villalobos says CHP officers are escorting motorists in both directions and traffic is slow.

More than two dozen accidents were reported before the closure, including an overturned big-rig, as vehicles skidded on the icy road.