Winds whip through the desert

On a normal day in the Coachella Valley, mountains are clearly visible from Palm Desert. However, today that was not the case.

“It sounded like rain it was pounding so hard,” said Cheyenne Mendel, a Colorado resident driving through the valley.

One place people really felt the windy weather was in their cars.

“The drive was really really windy… blowing a lot of sand and causing the visibility to be really poor,” said John Caddel who was out on the road.

Karl Baker, a resident of Desert Hot Springs, had some advice for those hitting the road.

“Watch the road and make sure–the flying debris is I think the worst thing,” said Baker.

Baker, along with some other valley residents, welcomed the gusty conditions.

“It’s not all that bad… I welcome it it’s the beginning of a change in seasons hopefully,” said Baker. We don’t get much in terms of changing seasons here in the desert so I look forward to the beginning of change. It’s nice… it’s almost like November is here.”

Both the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and Mt. San Jacinto State Park were closed Monday due to the windy conditions.