Saturday thunderstorm breaks record, brings flash flooding to Coachella Valley
A severe thunderstorm in the western area of the Coachella Valley wreaked havoc just after 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. More than an inch of rain fell and the National Weather Service issued a flash-flood warning for the downtown Palm Springs area. The storm included a microburst of winds measured at more-than 30-miles-per-hour.
National Weather Service San Diego said it is the most rain in a 24-hour period in the history of Palm Springs. A total of 1.19 inches fell.
Roadways in Palm Springs were flooded and nearly brought traffic to a halt. A watch commander with the Palm Springs Police Department told KESQ News Channel 3 and CBS local 2 that authorities were having a hard time keeping up with the influx of calls and assessing damage.
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In Cathedral City, the late afternoon’s flash flood left Cathedral Canyon Drive closed at the Whitewater River Wash. The city said it is expected to remain closed through the remainder of Saturday night. Officials said the city will have crews re-evaluate the situation early Sunday.
At least one residence inside of the Safari Mobile Home Park in Palm Springs sustained damage from the flooding.
Video from Palm Springs showed large tree branches strewn across the roadway. A large power outage near the downtown area was caused by the storm and left more than 1,000 people in the dark overnight.
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First Alert weathercaster Alex Cheney is tracking the severe weather closely. He is watching a large surge of monsoonal moisture from the South and a cut off flow to our West, which he says are giving us these stormy conditions.
Moisture will increase over night and Sunday will be a stormy day as well.
There is a 60% chance of rain for tonight and into Sunday.
Stay with the First Alert weather team for updates on the weekend weather. Get your forecast any time by clicking here.
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Did you get video and photos of the storm? Use SHARE@KESQ.COM to email the newsroom, or share with us on social media.
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