Rainfall in the Coachella Valley flooded one of Palm Springs’ major thoroughfares Thursday afternoon, leading authorities to shut down an almost four-mile stretch of roadway.
The rains, which are part of a storm sweeping across Southern California Thursday, flooded Indian Canyon Drive at the wash, just south of Interstate 10, leading Palm Springs police to shut down the roadway between San Rafael Drive and Garnet Avenue.
Elsewhere in the county, the storm was wreaking havoc with washed out roads, and the National Weather Service issuing flash flood and wind advisories for the western half of the county, as well as the San Gorgonio Pass and the Cranston Fire burn areas near Idyllwild.
While the Coachella Valley was exempt from the official storm warnings, light showers did hit the desert midday and into the afternoon. The NWS reported that there was a chance of showers and thunderstorms hitting Palm Springs before 10 p.m., but skies were expected to be clear by Friday
The expectation of high winds and heavy rains also led city officials to cancel the weekly Thursday evening VillageFest street fair in downtown Palm Springs.
