Wild weather hits Southwest County
By: DEIRDRE NEWMAN - Staff Writer | ∞
Southwest Riverside County residents may have expected Dorothy and Toto to blow in Saturday afternoon as a moisture-laden weather pattern produced hail, rain, lightning and a possible tornado.
Hemet was hardest hit with more than 1 1/2 inches of rain falling in less than an hour, between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m., said meteorologist Steven Vanderburg with the National Weather Service. The Hemet area also was pelted with hail between the size of a penny and nickel, wind gusts between 60 and 70 miles per hour and reports of a tornado, Vanderburg said.
"The storm was definitely capable of producing (a tornado)," he said.
Hemet received 0.87 inches of rain, Murrieta received 0.13 inches and Menifee Valley got 0.01 inches, according to weathercurrents.com. Temecula had mostly gray skies with patches of clearing throughout the day, but no rain to speak of. Robert Lyons, shopping at the Temecula Town Center on Saturday afternoon, said the warm, muggy weather was more like Detroit, where he had just moved from.
The storm then moved southwest toward Murrieta, weakening as it went, Vanderburg said. It petered out completely as it traveled into San Diego County, he added.
The storm is partially a result of Hurricane Emily, which hit Mexico's Yucatan peninsula earlier this month, Vanderburg said. The moisture from the hurricane, combined with the local winds, drove the thunderstorms into the area, he said.
More showers and thunderstorms are expected through Monday, Vanderburg said.
Contact staff writer Deirdre Newman at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2623, or dnewman@californian.com.
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