Second Wintry Storm Fizzles In Valley
A cold Pacific storm that struck Riverside County today weakened before it got here, and blue skies appeared over most of the area by early afternoon.
In fact, many KESQ viewers sent us pictures of a rainbow that streaked across the sky on Sunday.
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“The whole front was weakening as it moved southward,” said forecaster Noel Isla of the National Weather Service. “It appears to have moved through the county, but there is still a chance of scattered showers tonight.”
The storm did manage to give Mt. San Jacinto its first snowfall of the year, which was captured on its live towercam.
Click here to see a live camera atop the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
The storm snarled traffic and dumped up to an additional two inches of rain in some areas.
Wet weather and slick roads caused dozens of non-injury crashes on Inland Empire freeways, especially in the hour between 8 and 9 a.m., the California Highway Patrol reported.
No freeway was immune nor worse than another, a CHP dispatcher said, and most crashes involved loss of traction that caused vehicles to spin out of control.
A tan sedan slid off the road and through a fence on the Pomona (60) Freeway just north of Interstate 15 shortly before 7:30 a.m. An hour later, on the same freeway, a Honda Civic spun out and hit the center divider just west of Valley Way.
On Interstate 215, the driver of a green van spun out of control north of Central Avenue around 9 a.m.
Flooding was reported shortly after 8:30 a.m. on the Riverside (91) Freeway east of Tyler Street. CalTrans posted warning signs to alert drivers of the danger, the dispatcher said.
More than two inches of rain fell in the mountain areas and snow levels dropped to the 5,000 foot elevation this morning, said forecaster Noel Isla of the National Weather service. About two inches of snow had accumulated this morning in local mountains, but up to another 10 inches was anticipated, Isla said.
Rainfall totals for the weekend storms ranged from .04 inches in Palm Springs to 3.11 inches in Temecula and 3.63 inches in Vista Grande.
Other rainfall totals include .37 inches in Riverside, .76 inches in Murrieta, 1.10 inches in Beaumont, and 1.55 inches in Keenwild.
Storms were forecasted to continue through Tuesday, with up to an additional .75 inches of rain anticipated, Isla said.
