Indian Canyon, Gene Autry, Vista Chino back open after 60 mph winds overnight in Palm Springs
After an extremely windy night that saw gusts surpass 60 mph in several areas of the western Coachella Valley, all three major Palm Springs thoroughfares that closed because of the winds were back open Tuesday.
The closures had impacted portions of Indian Canyon Drive, Gene Autry Trail and Vista Chino, creating headaches for drivers looking to get between central Palm Springs and Interstate 10 or Desert Hot Springs.
The winds that caused road closures from blowing sand also resulted in power outages in cities including Palm Springs, La Quinta and the east valley. The Imperial Irrigation District said 2,138 of its customers were without power in La Quinta and Indian Wells for an unspecified period of time. Another 250 were without power between Mecca and Oasis for about an hour Monday night.
Southern California Edison customers in north Palm Springs also reported multiple outages. One Desert Sun staffer reported that there were three outages Monday night, the last of which ended by around 10 p.m. A spokesperson for the company said there were 14 reported instances of damage to the power grid that had to be repaired, some of which resulted in outages.
Staff worked through the night to resolve all outages, he said, and Southern California Edison's online outage map did not show any unscheduled outages in the Coachella Valley by Tuesday afternoon.
Multiple residents of Palm Springs shared images on social media of palm tree fronds and skirts that had blown down in the storm, including in downtown Palm Springs along Palm Canyon Drive.
As of early Tuesday, the valley's highest wind speeds had been clocked in Desert Hot Springs, which saw a gust of 66 mph, according to the National Weather Service. But Palm Springs International Airport, which typically sees less wind from storms than points to the north, wasn't far behind with a 61-mph gust recorded a little before 10 p.m. Monday.
The highest recorded gust in Southern California came just after noon Monday in Whitewater: 73 mph. Gusts of 41 mph and 36 mph were recorded in Cathedral City and Thermal respectively.
While full wind totals for early Tuesday morning were not available, the weather service said winds of above 60 mph had also been recorded in Desert Hot Springs and Cabazon after midnight.
Forecasts called for gusts of up to 45 mph Tuesday in Desert Hot Springs and North Palm Springs, but only light winds in much of the rest of the valley.
The winds were expected to die down across the valley by Wednesday morning, with the area then set to begin a warmup that will see temperatures rise into the 90s for the first time this year over the weekend.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: 60 mph winds: Indian Canyon, Vista Chino, Gene Autry reopen
