Windy conditions knocked out power to more than 450 Southern California Edison customers in the Coachella Valley Monday and may have contributed to an overturned big rig, which forced the closure of a Desert Hot Springs highway.
The wind gusts came amid a high wind warning issued by the National Weather Service for the Coachella Valley, warning of 20 to 30 mph winds, and gusts up to 55 mph. The warning will be in effect until 2 p.m.
In Desert Hot Springs, 448 customers were without power as of 9 a.m., with smaller outages reported in Cathedral City, Palm Desert and North Palm Springs. An SCE outage map states that most customers are expected to have power restored by 6 p.m.
High winds may also have led to a big rig overturning on state Route 62, near Indian Avenue. There was no immediate word on injuries, but Desert Hot Springs Police Chief Dale Mondary said the crash left the highway at least partially blocked heading north into Yucca Valley.
Caltrans initially reported that the highway was fully blocked, but at 8:45 a.m., reported that one lane had reopened to traffic.
Mondary also advised that “high-profile vehicles should avoid the 62 due to extremely high winds.”