Roads reopen after El Nio hits Coachella Valley
Friday Update: N. Indian Canyon Drive between Tramview and Garnet is now open after heavy rain flooded the roadway the past couple of days. Araby Drive at the wash is also back open as of Friday afternoon.
Dune Palms Road is also back open.
Update: 7:00pm
The same happened on Indian Canyon Road in Palm Springs. Most of the water has dried leaving behind mess to dangerous to drive on. The city of Palm Springs said it does not know when the roadway will reopen.
“It’s a big mess, it’s dramatic, but it means we are getting some relief from the drought so this is good, all good,” said Palm Springs resident Caroline Thoma.
Homeowners on Araby Drive in Palm Springs are used to seeing the roadway underwater.
“We knew it had flooded when the signs go up. This happens about every year at least once during the winter, but I think this is the first time this winter,” said Thoma.
Even drivers with four-wheel-drive were forced to turn around, but it’s not the worse flooding people in this neighborhood have experienced.
“We’ve seen it when it’s been white caps all the way across. You can see distinctly three separate rivers kind of broaching across the road, when it’s really flooded it’s all the way across,” said Thoma.
One person took advantage of the newly created landscape to explore on horseback.
“We have a base of two feet now which haven’t had in years, actually four years,” said Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Public Affairs Manager Greg Purdy.
“It was great to see snow like that. I’ve been up in the mountains a couple times when it was snowing, but nothing like this,” said tramway visitor Jeff Titus.
“I was surprised there was so much up there, it was cold,” said Rosemary Guarguna.
There was so much snow, the tram’s Adventure Center will open up Friday for the first time in four years.
“We hope the snow continues all season long, the weather reports certainly say that. We bought new equipment at our Adventure Center so our guests can have brand new gear to rent from us and they can bring their sleds and have fund with the family,” said Purdy.
“We could play in the snow and get so much fun in the snow,” said 9-year-old tramway visitor Perla Vargas.
It’s not just the top of the tramway, snow levels dropped to 4,000 feet giving the Valley a stunning wintry backdrop.
“I thought it was beautiful,” said Guarguna.
Update: 2:15pm Cathedral City says Cathedral Canyon Drive at the wash is now open.
Some roads remain closed in the Coachella Valley after heavy rains flooded the Whitewater Wash Wednesday evening, and now police are saying some commuters have been driving around the barricades; a move that officers strongly advise against.
North Indian Canyon Drive, Araby Drive and Dune Palms Road are still closed at the wash.
Palm Springs police said drivers were making their way around the barricades on North Indian Canyon Drive Thursday morning.
The amount of water in the roadway has declined from the previous night, but cars can still become stuck, potentially trapping motorists as they try to make their way through the murky remains.
News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 are tracking the aftermath of the storm and we’ll have up-to-date details throughout the day, including when the major roadways reopen to traffic.
Wednesday updates:
Thursday 8:37 update: Indian Canyon and Araby in Palm Springs, Cathedral Canyon in Cathedral City, and Dune Palms in La Quinta are all CLOSED.
Thursday 4:34 a.m. update:Indian Canyon in Palm Springs, Cathedral Canyon in Cathedral City, and Dune Palms in La Quinta are all CLOSED.
7:10 p.m. update: Cathedral Canyon Drive has been closed at the Whitewater Wash in Cathedral City.
6:55 p.m. update: Indian Canyon has closed northbound at the wash in Palm Springs. Southbound lanes should be closing shortly.
6:00 p.m. update: No road closures in the Coachella valley
As crews finish cleaning up from round one of a strongEl Niostorm, that hit the desert on Tuesday, the second round ofEl Niostorms arrived on Wednesday, but the latest rain is not causing too many issues.
Flash flood warnings have been issued for many areas of Southern California. At 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, heavy rain began falling in the Banning Pass.
Some minor freeway flooding was reported by the California Highway Patrol, but no major issues to deal with.
Early Wednesday morning, crews were able to re-open both Cathedral Canyon in Cathedral City and Indian Canyon in Palm Springs at the wash, after they were shut down overnight due to flood waters.
Meanwhile, a flash-flood watch is in effect for Riverside and San Bernardino County until Thursday at 11 a.m.
A winter-storm warning has been issued for most mountain communities.
It will be cold with heavy snow expected at elevations above 6,000 feet.
Mountain communities received inches of snow on Tuesday, and an additional 5 to 10 inches of snow can be expected on Wednesday.
The storm system is the second of three storms expected in Southern California this week.
The first break from rain is expected to arrive on Sunday.
Desert El Nio Storm pictures