Weekend storms create power outages

The past two and half weeks around the Coachella Valley have seen an array of issues created by the hot and muggy weather. This weekend was no exception as storms knocked out power to over 1000 people.

The higher humidity is a bit different from what most tourist expect but it’s not keeping them from heading to the valley.

Steve Mat and his wife came to Palm Springs late Sunday. “We travel a lot,” Mat says. “You know and we go to Florida and if we can handle that we can handle this.”

The weekend storms brought brief heavy rain and gusty winds which brought down power poles on Saturday and again late Sunday night, leaving many east valley residents in the dark.

A long line of at least 27 power poles toppled in Mecca Saturday afternoon but, Imperial Irrigation District (IID) crews quickly got to work and had power restored monday night to all but eleven people out of more than 180.

The storms that brought lightning before dawn on Monday knocked down 9 power poles in Bermuda Dunes. IID reports all residents had power back by 4 pm the same day.

Another round of storms moved through Palm Springs late Monday afternoon but were moving so quickly, some people didn’t even notice.

Mat tells us, “I heard it but I didn’t see it. I enjoyed it though, a lot.” His wife Erika didn’t notice either while she shopped. “A girl said it’s raining outside. Really? Since when? So I didn’t even know,” Erika says.

Some residents say the hot and muggy weather is getting old and could be affecting business.

Alexis Mrzlak works across from the Forever Marilyn statue in Palm Springs. “Oh when it rains everyone goes inside,” Mrzlak says. “I mean today it wasn’t that bad because it only rained for a little bit but usually when it rains the streets are like dead.”

Even though the humidity hasn’t faded yet, most still see a bright side through all of the clouds.

“It’s kind of a nice change from the dry heat I guess. It’s good for my skin.”

Shadow Hills High School is also having power problems but they are not related to storm damage. The main breaker at the school in indio is apparently having issues, still no word tonight on when that will be fixed.