Storm brought over 1 inch of rain to parts of Coachella Valley, a bit less to Palm Springs
The winter storm that soaked Southern California on Monday dropped as much as an inch of rain in some parts of the Coachella Valley, with slightly less falling in Palm Springs.
The Palm Springs area received about 0.81 inches of rain Monday, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
On Tuesday, the National Weather Service posted precipitation totals from the preceding four days that showed rainfall amounts varied greatly throughout the valley. Nearly all of the rain that fell over the four-day period came on Monday, although some areas did see small amounts of rain on Saturday and Sunday.
On the high end were weather stations in southeast Thermal and at Kent Sea Farms south of Mecca, which received 1.3 and 1.19 inches of rain respectively. In Thermal, that total smashed the previous record for rain on Jan. 22, which was set in 2010 with 0.25 inches.
Other areas to receive over an inch of rain included the Thermal Airport, the Whitewater Trout Farm and the National Weather Service's measuring location in Cathedral City.
At Palm Springs International Airport, 0.82 inches of rain was recorded, which was up from just 0.01 inches Monday morning. Thousand Palms and Palm Desert saw 0.67 inches.
Did we need the rain?
In a word, yes. National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Tardy told The Desert Sun last week that Palm Springs had only received 0.04 inches of a rain in January. That put it far below the 1.14 inches it average in the month, which is typically its wettest.
However, Monday's deluge brought the valley much closer to its monthly averages, although the area will likely still end the month receiving less usual in January.
"This rain is really much needed," said Tardy on Monday. "It may not get us over our averages but it'll get us much closer."
Storm created wet roads, but few closures
While the storm created wet and sometimes flooded roadways throughout the Coachella Valley, few road closures occurred. In the east valley, Country Club Road was closed from Adams Street to the Indio city limits. Further east, Box Canyon Road was closed from the All-American Canal to Interstate 10.
Avenue 50 at the wash was closed earlier from Washington Street to Park Avenue in La Quinta, but has since reopened.
Flights delayed, diverted
The storm impacted people traveling through Palm Springs International Airport, as some flights were delayed or diverted to other airports. However, the majority of flights appeared to take off and land as scheduled.
Airport spokesperson Jake Ingrassia told The Desert Sun around midday Monday that some flights scheduled to land at PSP were being diverted to other airports, but that they were all expected to eventually land in Palm Springs. He also flights that were being scheduled to land at other airports were being rerouted to PSP.
He added that each airline decides when to divert based on its own standards for visibility and cloud elevation needed for landing and that details about the number of diversions would have to come from airlines.
Among the impacted flights was an Avelo Airlines flight from Eugene, Oregon, that was diverted to Burbank, landing there around 12:30 p.m. That flight laded in Palm Springs at 1:44 p.m., about an hour later than originally scheduled.
About 15 flights departing from Palm Springs had been delayed Monday, according to the flight-tracking app FlightAware. That's about about 16% of the airport’s total. The delays ranged from a few minutes to nearly 2½ hours in the case of a Southwest flight to Las Vegas.
FlightAware also reported that 10 flights to or from Palm Springs International Airport had been canceled Monday, all either on Alaska or United Airlines. However, those do not seem to have been storm related. It appeared those flights were to be on Boeing 737 Max 9 planes, many of which remain grounded for inspections following an incident Jan. 5 in which a piece of fuselage blew off a plane midflight.
How were things in the rest of Southern California?
While the storm created headaches for drivers and fliers in the valley, it led to the declaration of a state of emergency by San Diego-area officials after over 2 inches of rain fell in areas, causing widespread flooding and damage to homes and businesses.
The city of San Diego received 2.73 inches of rain, making Monday the fourth rainiest day in the city's history. Eight cities in the San Diego area set daily weather records Monday, with all reporting over 1.5 inches of rain. In Campo, which is located near the Mexican border east of San Diego, 3.22 inches of rain were recorded.
Much of Orange County and the Inland Empire also received significant rainfall, including areas of San Gorgornio Pass such as Beaumont and Cabazon which both received over an inch of rain.
The highest rain totals were seen in the mountains, with Otay Mountain in San Diego County seeing 5.38 inches and Santiago Peak in eastern Orange County reporting 5.24 inches. Closer to home, Idyllwild saw 2.16 inches of rain.
What does the rest of the week look like?
The end of Monday's rain will be followed by a multiday warmup that will see the expected high temperature climb from 59 degrees on Monday into the 70s by Wednesday and the upper 70s through the end of the week.
"It's going to be mild for January," Tardy said. "It might take us all the way through the weekend, too."
That warmup will be caused by what Tardy called "buckling," in which the jet stream and the stormy weather associated with it shifts north and the Coachella Valley becomes dry and warm.
Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development and business in the Coachella Valley. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and email him at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Monday's storm brought an inch of rain to parts of Palm Springs area
