More rain headed for Coachella Valley; area mountains could see flooding
The second winter storm in less than a week is headed for the Coachella Valley, and flash flooding is expected in Riverside County's mountains.
The National Weather Service in San Diego has issued a flood watch from 2 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday for Riverside County valleys and mountains, which includes cities like Idyllwild. Other areas that could flood include the Inland Empire, San Bernardino County valleys and mountains, Santa Ana Mountains, the Foothills, and Orange County coastal and inland areas.
No flood watch is in place for the Palm Springs area, but the area will see rain later this week. Brandt Maxwell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego, said flooding shouldn't be a major concern for the valley since the rain will be staggered.
"There will be some short breaks in the rainfall," Maxwell said. "More than likely, if anything were to occur, (the flooding) would likely be in the Whitewater basin or Whitewater channel."
The Coachella Valley has a chance for rain until Wednesday night, when rainfall becomes more likely, according to the National Weather Service’s website. Then rain is expected before 4 p.m. Thursday, with a chance for rain again before 10 p.m. Thursday night.
Rain also fell across the Coachella Valley and other parts of Riverside County earlier this week. Palm Springs officially received nearly half an inch (0.42) on Jan. 1. North Indian Canyon Drive between Sunrise Parkway and Palm Springs Station Road was closed due to flooding on New Year's Day until Tuesday morning, according to the City of Palm Springs.
Desert Sun staff writer Andrew John contributed to this report.
Ani Gasparyan covers the western Coachella Valley cities of Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Reach her at ani.gasparyan@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs area to see more rain; area mountains could see flooding
