Flash flood watch in effect as Valley recovers from Sunday’s rainstorm
A flash flood watch will be in effect in Riverside County today, including areas still recovering from the aftermath of heavy weekend rains.
Palm Springs police advised motorists to avoid East Vista Chino and North Gene Autry Trail at the wash; they were closed due to flooding caused by a storm Sunday afternoon.
State Route 62 in Morongo Valley is open, although motorists should know that lanes will be reduced as crews clean mud and debris from the roadway.Caltrans also advised Route 95 from I-40 to Nevada will be closed for mud removal.
In Desert Center, Caltrans crews were working to restore roads and Southern California Edison workers were repairing the damage from a Saturday’s rain that downed 55 power poles and powerlines on Kaiser Road, according to Riverside County fire spokeswoman Jody Hagemann.
Downed poles and powerlines made Kaiser Road near Powerline Road impassible north and southbound, Hagemann said.
About 20 employees of First Solar are sheltering in place at the solar plant until roadways are cleared and they can leave the area, she said.
The Edison website indicated up to 150 customers in the Palm Desert area remain without power from outages.
A portable generator was installed to restore water service to about 150 Lake Tamarisk residents and a cooling center was opened at the Lake Tamarisk Community Center, Hagemann said.
The National Weather Service said the inclement weather was due to monsoonal moisture and moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Ivo.
A flash flood watch issued for the mountains and Coachella Valley on Sunday will remain in effect through this evening. At 10 a.m., the watch was scheduled to extend to the valley areas around Riverside.
“Monsoonal moisture and moisture from the remnants of Tropical Storm Ivo will continue to increase today and spread slightly farther west into portions of the inland valleys,” according to an NWS statement. “Daytime heating will lead to thunderstorms with heavy rainfall and flash flooding, especially in mountains and deserts with isolated thunderstorms in the inland valleys.
“Heavy rainfall in burn areas of the past few years will likely lead to mud and debris flows near and below those burns areas,” the NWS said.
The agency advised resident to have a plan of action ready to shelter in place or move to higher ground in the event they get caught up in a flash flood.
