OH, BOY! Did the rain come down...

The Coachella Valley is ringed with mountains, ranges that get snow in the winter and are considerably cooler in the summer than the desert floor.  From these mountain ranges in winter, we get rain run-off, as well as snow melt later in the year, that flows through the washes that cross the desert floor.  Yesterday, we had horrendous amounts of rain in the desert and mountains, and the run-off  raging water through the washes that attach to the mountains has caused significant damage and road closures.

There are major thoroughfares that cross Interstate 10 between Desert Hot Springs and the plethora of little cities on the western side of 10, including Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Cathedral City, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio, and others.  The rain combined with the run-off to turn those washes  into raging rivers that simply are not passable.  For all the workers who live either "up the hill" in the Yucca Valley area or in DHS, their access to their jobs was denied by the raging water and the debris it brought into the washes.

Of course, there are those who think they are smarter than the forces of nature and, thus, tried to navigate the swollen rivers. There were many rescues of people who made bad decisions, but their vehicles will have to be replaced once the waters recede and the debris fields, which now include their vehicle, are cleared off the roadways.  I'm not sure why people think the numerous travel warnings not to engage with the fierce run-off doesn't apply to them, but there are always people who think they can make it when no one else can.

The roads will be back open as soon as the crews can make that happen; however, until the roads are clear, people are going to be backed-up in long, slow lines of cars going one at a time through the limited access to the other side of the freeway.  Yesterday, many of the students throughout the Valley were sent home for safety, and I'm pretty sure they are staying home today, too, which makes this weekend a long one as Monday is also a holiday.

Don't mess with Mother Nature is still good advice.  Too bad so many individuals don't heed that advice.  Live and learn, but there's always a price tag associated with that lesson.