Severe storms fueled by moisture from former Hurricane Dolores barraged the Southwest over the weekend, resulting in unprecedented July rainfall that led to water rescues and triggered mudslides in California.
A particularly disruptive situation developed late Sunday in the deserts east of Palm Springs, California, where the eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 were washed away by floodwaters near the town of Desert Center according to the California Highway Patrol. At least one person was transported to a Palm Springs hospital after being trapped in a vehicle during the incident. Officials were concerned that the westbound lanes may have been undermined by the flooding, and the freeway remained closed Sunday night.
"Interstate 10 is closed completely and indefinitely," Terri Kasinga, spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation, told the Associated Press.
One of the proposed detour routes, State Route 78, was also closed from Brawley to Palo Verde when it was flooded a short time later, damaging the eastbound lanes. Arizona officials advised residents to use Interstate 8 to get to southern California's major coastal cities.
"This is a fascinating situation on so many levels. Against a backdrop of climate change, with the global atmosphere setting heat records month after month, we have an El Niño warming the waters of the tropical eastern Pacific. On top of that, the waters off the U.S. West Coast are also far warmer than average, and we have a tropical storm moving farther north and closer to the Mexican coast than most others in the historical record this early in the season," said weather.com senior meteorologist Nick Wiltgen.
(FORECAST: Moisture Surge for Desert Southwest Thanks to Tropical Storm Dolores)
Wiltgen added: "So all of this is dragging rich tropical moisture into southern California, where rain is usually very scant in July – and doing so in the midst of a historic drought, no less. It's almost surreal to watch it unfold if you know the back story."
California
All lanes of Interstate 15 were blocked near the Cajon Junction late Sunday afternoon when a mudflow slid across the highway, the National Weather Service reported, citing the California Highway Patrol. Late Friday, the area was impacted by a massive brush fire that burned near the interstate in Cajon Pass.
Sunday night, a large pothole developed in the right lane of northbound Interstate 5 north of Castaic, according to CHP reports. Several vehicles suffered flat tires from the pothole, which grew to 3 feet in diameter and also caused a six-vehicle collision.
At least six homes in Moreno Valley were flooded with mud and water late Sunday afternoon, ABC 7 Los Angeles reported. Authorities performed at least one water rescue.
Jennifer Fuhrman of the Riverside County Fire Department told NBC Los Angeles the muck came from mountains that rise above the affected area. Several vehicles stalled in the flood waters.
The Colorado Rockies versus San Diego Padres baseball game at Petco Park was rained out Sunday evening and has been rescheduled for September 10. This is the first rainout at the park since April 4, 2006.
Nearly 16,000 Southern California Edison customers were left without power during Saturday's storms, although, not all outages were due to the adverse conditions, ABC7 Los Angeles said.
As storms pushed north, more than 10,000 PG&E customers were in the dark Sunday evening across central and northern California, according to the utility's website.
Elsewhere in the Southwest, lightning strikes forced the closure of Long Beach area beaches before 2 p.m., KABC-TV reported.
An Alaska Airlines flight bound for Virginia made an emergency landing at LAX Airport when the aircraft was struck by lightning, the Associated Press reported. None of the 159 passengers reported feeling anything, and maintenance crews are inspecting the craft.
One person was struck by lightning in California City, California, according to the National Weather Service. The extent of the person's injuries, if any, were not made clear in the report.
Lightning caused Los Angeles County lifeguards to usher beachgoers to safety Saturday afternoon. Adverse weather prompted authorities to close Santa Monica Pier and beach, as well, according to the Santa Monica Police Twitter feed.
"The storm was approaching quickly and was within ten miles of the coastline. Our policy is to get everyone out of the water. Every beach from LA to San Diego County closed as a result of the lightning threat," Marine Safety Captain Tom Trager of Laguna Beach, California, told the media.
The concerns follow a freak lightning strike last July, when one person died and 13 were injured on Venice Beach during a sudden isolated thunderstorm.
This time around, the rare July rains are proving much more widespread, helping crews battle wildfires but also leading to concerns about flooding and debris flows.
A rockslide struck a tour bus Saturday afternoon in San Bernardino County, California, disabling the vehicle, the National Weather Service said, citing the California Highway Patrol. No injuries were reported.
More trouble hit the county Sunday. A rock slide blocked upbound lanes of State Route 330 near Running Springs. Near Joshua Tree, a vehicle was washed off State Route 62, but the occupants escaped. Later, a vehicle temporarily got stuck in the sand along the same road. There were multiple reports of flooding and debris in roadways around Victorville.
In Riverside County, State Route 74 was closed west of Perris due to flooding and downed power lines. Sunday night, a mudslide was reported on the on-ramp from Magnolia Avenue to southbound Interstate 15 in Riverside.
A debris flow was reported in Orange County Sunday night. Traffic was stalled both ways on Silverado Canyon Road due to the flow, the National Weather Service reported, citing local citizens. Shelters were established to aid those affected by the adverse conditions.
San Diego recorded 1.03 inches Saturday, breaking the city's rainfall record for the entire month of July – not just for a day in July, but the whole month's total. The previous record had been 0.92 inch for July 1-31, 1902. National Weather Service storm reports said a car was nearly submerged at the interchange of Interstate 8 and the 163 Freeway in the Mission Valley area of the city early Saturday afternoon.
Homes in Ramona, California, sustained damage when debris flows invaded multiple garages and front yards as the rain continued Sunday, the National Weather Service said. Rocks blocked roads, as well.
Downtown Los Angeles experienced its wettest July on record, picking up 0.28 inches of rain in just a few hours Saturday. The previous record was 0.24 inches in 1886. Los Angeles International Airport tied its wettest July on record, originally set in 1992, picking up 0.32 inches of rain.
West of Los Angeles, there were several reports of flooding around San Luis Obispo. In Ventura County, CHP reported a "large amount of rocks" littering State Route 33 in the mountains north of Ojai.
To the north, the State Route 58 freeway was shut down by a mudslide near Tehachapi, and traffic was diverted onto State Route 202. Five vehicles were reported stuck in flooding in Tehachapi, and flooding was also reported in Rosamond, according to CalTrans.
Rain was not as generous in Death Valley, where a dust storm was reported early Saturday afternoon. Visibility was briefly reduced to near zero, and NWS issued a dust storm warning for the afternoon hours.
On Friday, the eastern deserts of southern California were hit with severe weather. Needles clocked a 64-mph wind gust; those storms toppled a semi-truck on nearby Interstate 40.
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