The third storm system of the winter season produced moderate rainfall Monday in Riverside County, contributing to car wrecks and road closures but no major weather-related hazards in areas under mandatory evacuation orders at the foot of the Cleveland National Forest
The most intense rainfall was anticipated overnight, with the possibility of flooding, according to the National Weather Service.
A Flash Flood Watch will be in effect until midnight, with the weather service predicting locally heavy downpours and thunderstorms in some locations.
“There is the potential for mud slides and debris flows at recent burn scars, particularly the Holy Fire burn scar,” according to an weather service statement.
Anza received the greatest precipitation during daylight hours in Riverside County, recording 1.21 inches, the weather service said. Rain amounts generally ranged between a half and two-thirds of an inch in the Temecula Valley, while the Riverside metropolitan area was well under a quarter inch, according to rain gauges monitored by government agencies.
Numerous car accidents were reported on Interstates 15 and 215, as well as in Corona, Moreno Valley, Murrieta and Riverside. The county Department of Transportation closed segments of Temescal Valley Road in Glen Ivy due to flooding.
The Riverside County Emergency Management Department issued mandatory evacuation orders Monday morning for residents in the Amorose, Alberhill, Glen Ivy, Glen Eden, Grace, Horsethief Canyon, Laguna, Maitri, McVicker, Rice and Withrow neighborhoods, generally west or north of Lake Elsinore, in the Temescal Valley, bordering the Cleveland National Forest.
A care and reception center was set up at Temescal Canyon High School at 28755 El Toro Road in Lake Elsinore to take in residents. Small animals were being accepted at the San Jacinto Animal Campus at 581 South Grand Ave. in San Jacinto.
More information is available at www.rivcoready.org .
A wide area skirting the eastern boundary of the Cleveland National Forest was left exposed to potential flood and mud 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.
Rains on Dec. 6 resulted in significant flooding and mud flows into several neighborhoods, prompting street closures and evacuations. However, there was no major damage to homes.
The current storm is expected to weaken on Tuesday but regain strength on Wednesday and Thursday, potentially bringing another round of heavy rainfall, forecasters said.