Rain soaks Riverside County
A whopper storm cell dumped buckets of rain in less than an hour throughout the Riverside area this afternoon, leaving freeways and local roads a mess and taking the roof off one house in Riverside.
And another storm dumped rocks, debris and flowing water on state Route 74 east of Hemet, which was closed to traffic to its junction with Route 243 near Idyllwild. In those mountains, on eperson reported being stranded in a house be floodwater, and rescue crews were unable to get to that address due to water flowing across roads.
In the City of Riverside, firefighters were assessing the dwelling that lost its roof in the 1500 blovk of Eastwood Court, near Chicago Avenue and north of Route 60. Nearby, standing water stranded motorists on northbound Interstate 215 at Blaine Street around 1:30 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol officers.
The CHP issued a SigAlert at 1:50 p.m. because of a blockage that snarled traffic at the westbound state Route 60 connection to I-215 in Moreno Valley.
Two of three lanes of state Route 60 at Market Street, at the western Riverside city boundary with Jurupa Valley, were shut down due to flooding, according to the CHP.
At 2 p.m., a vehicle spun out sideways on the eastbound Riverside (91) Freeway, approaching the I-215 interchange, clogging traffic. The car apparently could not be re-started and had to be towed from the location, the CHP said.
A motorist was stuck in his vehicle in Highgrove, at Iowa Avenue at West Church Street, by floodwater.
Local streets were impacted by toppled trees and other debris throughout Riverside. At the intersection of Via Mindi and Via Las Nubles in Canyon Crest, storm drains were jammed with tree limbs and wind-sheared shrubs, causing roadway flooding — at one point with more than a foot of water running at the turnout.
The storm was ushered in with 50 mph or greater winds, creating blinding rain sheets that reduced visibility to less than a quarter mile.
Heavy runoff broke through a berm and flooded Interstate 215 at Third Street in central Riverside, according to CHP dispatchers. Lanes were also impassible on several levels at Route 60’s interchange with Route 91 and Interstate 215 in central Riverside.
Construction equipment was flooded along Route 91 at 14th Street.
The day’s storms began shortly before 11 a.m., when a strong stationary storm developed over the Santa Rosa Mountains and drenched Route 74, the Pines to Palms Highway, which links San Diego and the Coachella Valley.
Firefighters were dispatched to the 44000 block of east Highway 74, near Mountain Center, about power lines down, Cal Fire reported.
No water rescues nor any injuries tied to the stormy weather were reported, Riverside County Fire Department spokeswoman Jody Hagemann said.
The National Weather Service issued flash flooding warnings for the southwestern Coachella Valley, which included La Quinta, Indian Wells and Oasis.
