A low-pressure storm system is expected to reach the Inland Empire today ... bringing moderate to heavy showers as well as the potential for flash flooding and debris flows. More in this audio report from KVCR's Ken Vincent, with details below in a feature-length print story from City News Service.
The inclement weather prompted Riverside County officials to issue a voluntary evacuation order late Tuesday for select areas near the recent Holy Fire burn area. The National Weather Service issued a
flash flood watch for the Riverside County and San Bernardino County mountains, as well as the inland valleys and the San Gorgonio Pass near Banning. It will be in effect from late tonight through tomorrow evening. A high wind warning will also be in effect in the inland mountains from noon today through 10 tomorrow night. The Coachella Valley is not included in either advisory.
Steady rain will start this evening and continue overnight into
tomorrow ... when the heaviest rainfall is expected. The Riverside metropolitan
area and Lake Elsinore are forecast to get up to four-tenths of an inch of
rainfall today ... while up to six-tenths on an inch is expected in the San
Gorgonio Pass near Banning. The Coachella Valley will receive around one-tenth
of an inch. Idyllwild and Pine Cove could get up to 2 inches of rainfall today.
Snow levels will remain above 9-thousand feet.
More information about burn area preparations and voluntary evacuations:
[MORE DETAILS IN THE FULL CITY NEWS SERVICE STORY BELOW, published Wednesday morning at 5:00am]
RIVERSIDE (CNS) - A low-pressure storm system is expected to reach
the Inland Empire today, bringing moderate to heavy showers as well as the
potential for flash flooding and debris flows, according to the National
Weather Service.
The inclement weather prompted Riverside County officials to issue a
voluntary evacuation order late Tuesday for select areas near the recent Holy
Fire burn area.
The NWS issued a flash flood watch for the Riverside County and San Bernardino County mountains, valleys and the San Gorgonio Pass near Banning that will be in effect from late tonight through Thursday evening. A high wind warning will also be in
effect in the county mountains from noon today through 10 p.m. Thursday. The
Coachella Valley was not included in either advisory.
A massive trough of low pressure loaded with energy from the Gulf of
Alaska and a disturbance farther south in the Pacific will begin spreading
across the region this afternoon, according to the NWS.
The system will bring steady rain starting this evening and continuing
overnight into Thursday, when the heaviest rainfall is expected, NWS
meteorologist Miguel Miller said.
The Riverside metropolitan area and Lake Elsinore are forecast to get
up to four-tenths of an inch of rainfall today, while up to six-tenths of an
inch is expected in the San Gorgonio Pass near Banning and the Coachella Valley
will receive around one-tenth of an inch, forecasters said. Idyllwild and Pine
Cove could get up to 2 inches of rainfall today.
Snow levels will remain above 9,000 feet, Miller said.
South to southwest winds of 25 to 40 mph, with gusts reaching 65 mph,
are expected this afternoon through Thursday evening, according to the NWS.
The Riverside County Emergency Management Department issued voluntary
evacuation orders for the following neighborhoods near the Holy Fire burn area:
Amorose, Alberhill, Alvarado-A, Glen Eden, Glen Ivy-A, Glen Ivy-B, Grace,
Horsethief-A, Laguna-A, Lakeside-A, Maitri, McVicker-A, Rice and Withrow-A.
The EMD also advised residents near the Cranston burn area, which
blackened just over 13,000 acres between Hemet and Idyllwild, to prepare for
potential evacuation orders by arranging transportation, putting fuel in cars
and making plans to care for animals.
County officials urged residents to check maps at
www.RivCoReady.org/StormReady to determine if they are in an evacuation area.
Residents can also sign up for emergency alert notifications via the website.
A wide area skirting the eastern boundary of the national forest,
including Lake Elsinore and the Temescal Valley, was left exposed to potential
flood damage because of the 23,000-acre Holy Fire in August. The blaze,
allegedly the work of an arsonist, denuded steep terrain below Santiago Peak,
permitting water to flow unchecked onto lower slopes where subdivisions are
situated.
During a three-part storm series between Jan. 31 and Feb. 4, the EMD
issued mandatory evacuation orders covering the Glen Ivy, Horsethief Canyon and
McVicker Park communities on the north side of Lake Elsinore and south of El
Cerrito, along Interstate 15.
Mud and debris flows prompted several street closures, but no
significant damage was reported in connection with the storms.
The storm will die down significantly late Thursday afternoon and
scattered showers are expected to continue through Monday afternoon, Miller
said.
CNS-02-13-2019 04:54
