A sixth straight day of rain Tuesday pummeled Southwest County with an inch of water and hampered efforts to shore up the undermined Pala Road crossing over Pechanga Creek south of Temecula.

The crossing is expected to remain closed for a week, county officials said.

With high water and debris blocking the other end of Pala Road in North San Diego County, 400 families along the Riverside-San Diego county line resigned themselves to being cut off from the outside world at least one more day.

Paul McKenzie, a 71-year-old retired printer who lives just north of the line, said he was driving to a Temecula grocery store Monday to pick up milk and other items when he ran into barricades and had to turn around. The crossing over the rain-swollen creek is just south of Temecula's Great Oak High School.

"We're still stuck," McKenzie said Tuesday by telephone. "And we're all a little upset. We don't know what we would do in an emergency."

But, he said, at least he and wife Geraldine, both of whom are diabetics, have an ample supply of medicine.

It is the second time in two months residents of the rural area have been stranded. In January, the south end of Pala Road opened first after the rain stopped, then the Temecula-area crossing opened a few days later following emergency repairs. Residents said they expect that pattern to be repeated.

Yet, even when the south end opens, many residents who shop in Temecula and work in Riverside County will face a long, circuitous route —— along Highway 76 and Interstate 15 —— to their destinations.

"My bank and Stater Bros. (are) a mile and a half away from my house, but I'll have to drive 28 miles to get there," McKenzie said.

Hugh Smith, engineering division manager for Riverside County, said, "Obviously, we'll try to get (the crossing) open as quickly as possible."

Smith, however, said the rain and heavy creek flow slowed repair efforts. He said officials hope rain is light enough today to allow crews to plug holes around 6-foot-diameter culverts with cement and stop the creek from flowing under and around the big pipes.

"It's going to be a fast-setting concrete that we can place in water," he said.

Smith said the county must wait for soil around culverts and boulders to dry before patching the road. Its reopening is anticipated around the middle of next week, he said, depending on the weather.

"The sooner the rain stops the better," said Paul Russell, county highway maintenance superintendent,

A gradual change in the weather is forecast. Sporadic showers are supposed to continue today, but only a quarter-inch of rain is anticipated, said National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Moede in San Diego,

"We're going to go with a dry forecast for Thursday through Sunday, with partly cloudy skies," Moede said. "And then next week, we have a chance for more rain."

Moede said Tuesday's storm activity added still more suspense to a rainy season that has been full of surprises, delivering everything from snow to a tornado.

"We've had numerous reports of water spouts and funnel clouds over the coastal waters," he said.

As a result, the service issued a tornado watch for Riverside, San Diego and Orange counties for Tuesday afternoon.

"It is a rare occasion when we issue a tornado watch," Moede said.

According to a Southwest County online weather center, WeatherCurrents.com, about an inch of rain fell in Murrieta, Lake Elsinore and Temecula. Since the storm struck Thursday, half a foot of rain has fallen in Lake Elsinore and Murrieta, and more than 4 inches in Temecula. The 6-inch total matches the amount that fell during a five-day period in early January.

Murrieta's seasonal total, which is tops among area communities, surpassed 32 inches. The season runs July 1 through June 30.

The relentless rain has created myriad problems for area residents such as Wendy Rench, whose 3-acre northeast Temecula property is now crossed by a 4-foot-deep chasm.

"We used to have a driveway," Rench said. "We are literally cut off because we can't get across this canyon. All of our water lines, electricity lines and phone lines are exposed. We have big established trees and all their roots are exposed. It's just gotten to the point where it's completely ruined our property."

On Monday, husband, Bill, the pastor of a local Baptist church, fashioned a homemade bridge out of wooden posts anchored by concrete blocks to cross the driveway. Then, heavy rain washed out the makeshift bridge Tuesday morning.

Wendy Rench said her husband, not to be denied, headed out to a home improvement store to fetch more materials and piece together another bridge.

Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or ddowney@californian.com.