Sun Re-Appears Today—Maybe!

Updated 10:30am.  Beaumont and Banning received more than 8 inches of rain from the five-day storm, and more could be on the way after a two-day break.

The official National Weather Service forecast is "mostly sunny, with a high near 54. West wind between 5 and 10 mph."

At 10am, however, Banning and Beaumont remained solidly socked in by cloud cover, with temperatures just below 50 degrees.  

Tonight, according to NWS, it should be partly cloudy with a low around 43.  Winds will be calm, turning to the east and blowing between 5 and 10 mph.  On Friday the east wind is expected to reach 15 mph, with 25 mph gusts, and the day is supposed to be sunny and 62 degrees.

The drier weather is a welcome relief after a five-day "Pineapple Express" storm fueled by warm South Pacific air that walloped Banning, Beaumont and most of Southern California.

The amount of misery and hardship from the storm was impossible to measure, and it came in myriad packages.  It knocked out power at a facility run by Child Help in Beaumont, a nonprofit that specializes in the treatment and counseling of abused children. 

"The children were moved out and housed in Beaumont's Chatigny recreation center, fed by Second Harvest, and moved back when power was restored," Beaumont Director of Community Services Robert Sherwood told the city council meeting on Tuesday evening.

"A local pizza place donated pizzas for the kids," he said. "They may be asking for more evacuations!" 

San Gorgonio Ballet in Banning was in the middle of a building façade construction when the storm hit.  Water poured into the company's office, ruining important documents, dance equipment and props.

"The contractor said it was the landlord's fault, because he hired a roofer and the roofer clogged up the drains," said Julia Olsen-Rodriguez, artistic director of the company.  "The landlord said the contractor is to blame.  We have towels on the floor to try to keep the water away from the computer and other important items.  It's a mess."

By four o'clock on Wednesday, Banning's sewer system was at or over capacity in parts of town.  Water backing up from a sewer under Hargrave Street filled the gutters almost to overflowing.  Power lines and trees were down, as was the bridge over the raging San Gorgonio River to Mias Canyon, home to about 40 residents.

Patch's Pat Murkland, who has been reporting on the Mias Canyon situation, said, "It has gotten so bad that even four-wheel drive vehicles can't get across."

The road was no place to be, generally speaking.  AAA California reported 25,000 roadside assistance calls Tuesday into Wednesday, a one-day record.  Roads were closed throughout the Inland Empire, and a big bridge over the Santa Ana River in Highland buckled.  At the height of the five-day storm, Riverside County emergency responded to almost 500 calls a day.

Beaumont closed the following streets:

• Brookside Ave - between Beaumont Ave and Oak View 
• 12th Street - between Orange and Magnolia
• 8th Street - between Orange and Palm 
• Maple - between 8th and 9th
• 6th Street - between Xenia and True Value Hardware Store
• 8th Street - between Highland Springs and Pennsylvania
• Xenia - between 6th and 8^th

Banning reported that Sunset Avenue south of Westward Avenue is closed.

Flying was almost as miserable.  Flights to Ontario International Airport experienced big delays, and Palm Springs International canceled flights and rerouted some departing passengers to Ontario.

Banning and Beaumont Amtrak customers also had to scramble.  The North Palm Springs station, nearest to the two towns, was not accessible due to flooding along Station Road.

While Highway 60 near Beaumont experienced serious slowdowns at the height of the storm Wednesday afternoon, both it and Interstate 10 remained open. 

The hardest hit of local freeways was Interstate 215, which suffered closures in Riverside and San Bernardino.  In Riverside, large chunks of concrete fell from a brand-new connecting ramp, part of an interchange project costing more than $200 million.  The southbound connector to Eastbound Highway 60 in Riverside is closed indefinitely as a result.

Further north in San Bernardino, crews attempted to clean up mudslides that closed a lane of I-215 at Third Street. 

Ski resorts caught a break when a cold front passed through the area, lowered temperatures Wednesday night, and the snow line dropped to 5,500 feet as a result.  But flood damage closed roads leading to several resorts.  Highway 330 from Interstate 210 to the mountain ski areas is closed indefinitely after major damage, but Highway 38 from Mentone to Big Bear Lake remains open.  Sections of Highway 18 also are closed.

For the first time in five days, word from the National Weather Service was encouraging.

"Clouds and showers will decrease," according to NWS, with "partly cloudy skies and dry through Friday.  Clouds will increase late Christmas day, with a chance of showers that will linger through the weekend."