Heavy rains flood valley washes forcing road closures
Thunderstorms popped up over the mountains again on Tuesday, sending some light rain into Palm Springs. But, the mountains around the Coachella Valley saw heavy downpours and even some hail.
The rain caused a big rig to crash on I-10 near Whitewater, which shut down several westbound lanes for hours.
The heavy mountain rainfall washed into several Palm Springs roads, and even sent a wall of mud racing into west valley washes. That wall came with an accompanying roar loud enough to draw out the neighborhood.
Bob Benat lives in the neighborhood just north of the wash in Palm Springs. He tells us, “I walked out in my garage and I could hear this. And I just wanted to see what it was. I couldn’t imagine but I guess there’s a lot of rain in the mountains.”
The roaring stream continued all the way through the wash into Cathedral City, temporarily shutting down Cathedral Canyon Drive and Golf Club Drive. The water even made it to Frank Sinatra drive in at the wash in Rancho Mirage.
The washes have seen flooding rains before however, this is the first big rainfall the west valley has seen since the Mountain Fire in July. The runoff washed mountains of debris from the fire down into the washes which will make for a much more difficult clean up.
Lee Page lives on the golf course in Cathedral City near the wash, he says, “That’s a lot of debris, and I’ve seen boulders washed down in the middle of this strip of land out here.”
This isn’t the highest the water has ever been in the washes, but it is still a “different” spectacle for many locals.
Taina Hollinger has lived in Palm Springs all her life. She says, “It came to the top of the of this, oh god I want to say years ago. And we stood here and watched it but not like this black.”
Residents who live near the washes are all too familiar with flood waters forcing road closures, so they know what they have to do.
Jody Fossel has lived near the wash for four years, she tells us, “I mean I have a birthday party I have to go up there tonight so I have to go all the way around.”
Hollinger adds, “This happens kind of regularly. We lived here all our lives and we love it.”
