Flooding Triggers Idyllwild Rockslides, Winchester Road Closure: RivCo Transportation Dept.

WINCHESTER, CA — A torrential storm that poured overnight triggered flooding in Winchester and at least one rockslide, leading to a partial closure of Highway 243 near Idyllwild Thursday, the Riverside County Transportation Department shared.

Downpours left standing water along Leon Road in Winchester in the predawn hours. Flooding filled a quarter-mile stretch of the north-south lanes between Olive Avenue and Hill Drive with muck and debris.

The area received about a half-inch of rain Wednesday night into Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

The California Highway Patrol said rocks rolled onto Highway 243 north of Idyllwild shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday, following thunderstorms. Although traffic was disrupted, the two-lane mountain corridor remained open.

The Idyllwild-Pine Cove area received nearly an inch of rain from Wednesday night to early Thursday morning, the NWS said.

No other significant road impacts were immediately reported.

The Weather Service said the Hemet-San Jacinto Valley received the greatest rainfall countywide overnight, recording about 1.2 inches.

The area around Riverside Municipal Airport recorded only about a tenth of an inch, while the Coachella Valley saw virtually no rainfall.

The storm system is expected to completely exit to the northeast late Thursday night.