Scattered heavy rain dances around Coachella Valley
Heavy rain pummeled parts of the Coachella Valley and theMountain Fire burn area before dawn Sunday, causing flash flooding in themountains and resulted in the closure of a Palm Springs street.
And more storms moved in, prompting the National WeatherService to issue a flash flood warning for the Mecca, Coachella and Indio areato remain in effect until 12:45 p.m.
Slow moving thunderstorms producing heavy rainfall will likely result inflash flooding in the extreme lower part of the Coachella Valley near theSalton Sea, the NWS reported.
The excessive runoff from heavy rainfall will cause flooding of smallcreeks and streams, according to the NWS.
About 1.5 inches of rain fell overnight at the top of the Palm SpringsAerial tramway, and thunder dancing around the Coachella Valley was the talk ofTwitter in the wee hours.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department reported no major crashes inthe Coachella Valley. But Palm Springs police reported that runoff down PalmCanyon Wash led to the closure of Araby Road at 6 a.m. south of East PalmCanyon Road, Sgt. Kyle Stjerne said.
There were no major incidents to report in Palm Springs, Stjerne said.
In Cathedral City, runoff led to the brief closure of Cathedral CanyonDrive at the Whitewater Wash. It was closed to traffic at noon, but reopenedabout 90 minutes later, city spokeswoman Leisa Lukes said.
The street had been closed south of Dinah Shore Drive and north of PerezRoad, Lukes said.
Near the Salton Sea, a heavy downpour prompted flash flood warnings forMecca and Oasis. But no damage was reported.
Heavy rain also caused some flash flooding near Borrego Springs, in SanDiego County.
Rock slides and debris were reported overnight in the area burned by theMountain Fire, which has scorched 27,245 acres. But after the rain, observedfire activity was significantly less than Saturday, when a huge cloud wasgenerated by the fire itself.
