California

[Rothman]

Friend of mine in San Diego says the event was totally overhyped.

Las Vegas looks interesting, though...

[pderocco]

Looks like a wonderful summer Sunday afternoon on the roads of Southern California.

I'm sure the LA and San Diego areas are awful, but of that the biggest single thing appears to be the full closure of Interstate 15 through Barstow.  I haven't seen an exact reason yet but flooding would be a decent guess.

It's downed power lines, according to CalTrans.

I'm in San Diego, and it was raining pretty hard an hour ago, but very little wind. Seems like a typical winter storm, except for the temperature.

I do notice that I-8 EB going down into the low desert is closed, due to a rockslide. That's gonna suck, because it looks like 78 might be closed (zero traffic showing), so CR-S22 through Ranchita down to Borrego Springs is the nearest alternative. Even the Mexico routes 2 and 20 are closed. But in the
western part of San Diego County everything looks green on Google Maps.

[pderocco]

Wow. All of the eastern portion of CA-190 is closed, as is about everything in Death Valley. Maybe Scotty's Castle is going to have to wait another year or two to open.

[Quillz]

Friend of mine in San Diego says the event was totally overhyped.

Las Vegas looks interesting, though...

It's raining pretty heavy where I am right now, but I'd agree the warnings are erring much more on the side of caution than reality. Fine with me, frankly a lot of people shouldn't be driving right now because a lot of people never slow down or seem to take any precautions during rain.

Personally I'm not seeing anymore rain than I did earlier in the year. Looks like it will be wrapping up later tonight.

[Rothman]

Friend of mine in San Diego says the event was totally overhyped.

Las Vegas looks interesting, though...

It's raining pretty heavy where I am right now, but I'd agree the warnings are erring much more on the side of caution than reality. Fine with me, frankly a lot of people shouldn't be driving right now because a lot of people never slow down or seem to take any precautions during rain.

Personally I'm not seeing anymore rain than I did earlier in the year. Looks like it will be wrapping up later tonight.

Heh.  The way Californians are afraid of rain always amuses me (had a friend from somewhere in LA that spoke of times when her school was cancelled due to heavy rains...).  I know they don't build their hills out there as well as we do back East, though...

Makes me wonder about what people consider "extreme weather" and if gentler climates mean that what other people consider normal is considered extreme...

[Max Rockatansky]

Which is why things like chain controls exist.  I argue they are thing largely to thin out of the herd of mediocre drivers who can't operate a vehicle in adverse weather.

[Quillz]

Friend of mine in San Diego says the event was totally overhyped.

Las Vegas looks interesting, though...

It's raining pretty heavy where I am right now, but I'd agree the warnings are erring much more on the side of caution than reality. Fine with me, frankly a lot of people shouldn't be driving right now because a lot of people never slow down or seem to take any precautions during rain.

Personally I'm not seeing anymore rain than I did earlier in the year. Looks like it will be wrapping up later tonight.

Heh.  The way Californians are afraid of rain always amuses me (had a friend from somewhere in LA that spoke of times when her school was cancelled due to heavy rains...).  I know they don't build their hills out there as well as we do back East, though...

Makes me wonder about what people consider "extreme weather" and if gentler climates mean that what other people consider normal is considered extreme...

If anything, people around here aren't afraid of rain. Which is why people have a tendency to never slow down during the rain, then wonder why they slip out.

Traveling is always helpful. I've gotten proficient with driving on snow/ice, heavy rain, fog, etc. But I get not everyone has.

[cl94]

I mean, the flooding in parts of the inner LA metro has been quite bad. The area around the 101/134/170 interchange has been a mess, with many cars getting stuck in floodwater.

Further out, there are full closures on I-10 in Thousand Palms, US 395 north of Victorville, CA 14 north of CA 58, CA 58 west of CA 14, and CA 178 through Kern Canyon. It is an absolute mess in the mountains.

Looks like a wonderful summer Sunday afternoon on the roads of Southern California.

I'm sure the LA and San Diego areas are awful, but of that the biggest single thing appears to be the full closure of Interstate 15 through Barstow.  I haven't seen an exact reason yet but flooding would be a decent guess.

It's downed power lines, according to CalTrans.

I'm in San Diego, and it was raining pretty hard an hour ago, but very little wind. Seems like a typical winter storm, except for the temperature.

I do notice that I-8 EB going down into the low desert is closed, due to a rockslide. That's gonna suck, because it looks like 78 might be closed (zero traffic showing), so CR-S22 through Ranchita down to Borrego Springs is the nearest alternative. Even the Mexico routes 2 and 20 are closed. But in the
western part of San Diego County everything looks green on Google Maps.

Oh, it gets better. There was a period today when 8, 78, and S22 were all closed due to flooding or slides.

[Quillz]

That would make the Sherman Pass Road the southernmost crossing of the Sierra open right now. Good thing I did my Yosemite trip last weekend, my options this weekend would have been much more limited.

[ClassicHasClass]

Pretty dull in greater LA. We got 3 and half inches of rain but not much in the way of wind. Brief power outage for less than 30 seconds. The humidity was a bit obnoxious but that was about it.

Looks way worse in the low desert, though.

[Max Rockatansky]

Saturday was worse in the Central Valley.  There was an isolated storm that had some wind speed behind it.  Yesterday was basically light rain and drizzle all afternoon.

[thsftw]

Just about every highway in the desert is closed right now due to flooding and washouts.

[Quillz]

Pretty dull in greater LA. We got 3 and half inches of rain but not much in the way of wind. Brief power outage for less than 30 seconds. The humidity was a bit obnoxious but that was about it.

Looks way worse in the low desert, though.

To be expected, seems like the hurricane went where predicted, so LA never was going to get hit too hard. I normally enjoy the rain but this one was warm and not very pleasant. And now it's blue sky again and supposed to get back up to 90 F by the end of the week.

I was planning another Yosemite trip for this weekend but I might have to cancel since my planned route may not be opened. Or I'd have to just go via the Central Valley both in and out. I'm glad I got Tioga Pass in when I did.

[edwaleni]

Deep water? No tread on tires? Too fast for conditions? Inexperience behind the wheel?.......take your pick.

[pderocco]

I'm surprised to see major discrepancies between CalTrans road conditions and Google Maps. Google says I-5 is closed for a stretch north of San Diego, and on CA-78 from CR-S22 to Borrego Springs Rd, but CalTrans says they're not.

One scary bit: Both CalTrans and Google show no way in and out of Trona, since CA-190 and CA-178 are both closed.

[Max Rockatansky]

I bet that "no way out"  feeling is just an average day for anyone stuck having to work at those Searles Valley salt plants.  Trona probably would be my contender for the worst place in California.

[roadman65]

Heard I-8 is closed about 75 miles east of San Diego as massive boulders fell onto the highway. Traffic is being detoured to the WB lanes set up in temporary two way mode.

https://calexicochronicle.com/2023/08/21/hilary-boulders-keep-e-b-i-8-closed-to-traffic/

[Max Rockatansky]

Yeah that's kind of common on the Mountain Springs Grade even with normal storms.

[Quillz]

I bet that "no way out"  feeling is just an average day for anyone stuck having to work at those Searles Valley salt plants.  Trona probably would be my contender for the worst place in California.

I was trapped between Eureka and Crescent City for about 14 hours about two years ago. CA-299 was closed east of Eureka, US-101 was closed just south of Crescent City. Both due to damage from rains. Bald Hills Road was also closed/washed out, and CA-169 has a gap. I think we ended up overnighting in a motel in Eureka. There were some big rigs, I guess they just slept in their cabs. But at least we were near the redwoods and the ocean, so it wasn't the worst place to be trapped.

[Max Rockatansky]

I bet that "no way out"  feeling is just an average day for anyone stuck having to work at those Searles Valley salt plants.  Trona probably would be my contender for the worst place in California.

I was trapped between Eureka and Crescent City for about 14 hours about two years ago. CA-299 was closed east of Eureka, US-101 was closed just south of Crescent City. Both due to damage from rains. Bald Hills Road was also closed/washed out, and CA-169 has a gap. I think we ended up overnighting in a motel in Eureka. There were some big rigs, I guess they just slept in their cabs. But at least we were near the redwoods and the ocean, so it wasn't the worst place to be trapped.

For clarification, Trona is noteworthy given the town is so full of salt that even grass has a difficultly growing with irrigation.  For example the field at Trona high school still doesn't have grass which can be seen on satellite views.

[roadman65]

I bet that “no way out” feeling is just an average day for anyone stuck having to work at those Searles Valley salt plants.  Trona probably would be my contender for the worst place in California.

I was trapped between Eureka and Crescent City for about 14 hours about two years ago. CA-299 was closed east of Eureka, US-101 was closed just south of Crescent City. Both due to damage from rains. Bald Hills Road was also closed/washed out, and CA-169 has a gap. I think we ended up overnighting in a motel in Eureka. There were some big rigs, I guess they just slept in their cabs. But at least we were near the redwoods and the ocean, so it wasn't the worst place to be trapped.

At least you found a motel. When I drove US 101 rooms were hard to come by. Apparently people love the ocean in CA and OR, despite the lack of sunshine, cool temps, and water that is  too cold for swimming. Yet they still hoard traveler services when there is nothing else to do in US 101 cities. In Florida ( or any east coast city)  people wait till till sunny skies, hot temps, and little less cooler water to fill up beachside motels. 

Why those in Northern California and Coastal Oregon go to a beach you can do nothing on them is a question I have for Saint Peter after I die.

[Max Rockatansky]

You do lots of things, especially if you have a wet suit.  A lot of those northern beaches are just pretty to look at or relax without going in the water.

[kkt]

I bet that "no way out"  feeling is just an average day for anyone stuck having to work at those Searles Valley salt plants.  Trona probably would be my contender for the worst place in California.

I was trapped between Eureka and Crescent City for about 14 hours about two years ago. CA-299 was closed east of Eureka, US-101 was closed just south of Crescent City. Both due to damage from rains. Bald Hills Road was also closed/washed out, and CA-169 has a gap. I think we ended up overnighting in a motel in Eureka. There were some big rigs, I guess they just slept in their cabs. But at least we were near the redwoods and the ocean, so it wasn't the worst place to be trapped.

At least you found a motel. When I drove US 101 rooms were hard to come by. Apparently people love the ocean in CA and OR, despite the lack of sunshine, cool temps, and water that is  too cold for swimming. Yet they still hoard traveler services when there is nothing else to do in US 101 cities. In Florida ( or any east coast city)  people wait till till sunny skies, hot temps, and little less cooler water to fill up beachside motels. 

Why those in Northern California and Coastal Oregon go to a beach you can do nothing on them is a question I have for Saint Peter after I die.

I love not having full sun!  I love cooler temperatures!  And I don't care about swimming in the ocean anyway.

I watch the surf, I walk, I watch the sun set, I look at the interesting critters in the tide pools and the birds...

[Rothman]

I bet that "no way out"  feeling is just an average day for anyone stuck having to work at those Searles Valley salt plants.  Trona probably would be my contender for the worst place in California.

I was trapped between Eureka and Crescent City for about 14 hours about two years ago. CA-299 was closed east of Eureka, US-101 was closed just south of Crescent City. Both due to damage from rains. Bald Hills Road was also closed/washed out, and CA-169 has a gap. I think we ended up overnighting in a motel in Eureka. There were some big rigs, I guess they just slept in their cabs. But at least we were near the redwoods and the ocean, so it wasn't the worst place to be trapped.

At least you found a motel. When I drove US 101 rooms were hard to come by. Apparently people love the ocean in CA and OR, despite the lack of sunshine, cool temps, and water that is  too cold for swimming. Yet they still hoard traveler services when there is nothing else to do in US 101 cities. In Florida ( or any east coast city)  people wait till till sunny skies, hot temps, and little less cooler water to fill up beachside motels. 

Why those in Northern California and Coastal Oregon go to a beach you can do nothing on them is a question I have for Saint Peter after I die.

If you can't see the beauty on the Oregon Coast, you have no soul.

[FredAkbar]

I'm surprised to see major discrepancies between CalTrans road conditions and Google Maps. Google says I-5 is closed for a stretch north of San Diego, and on CA-78 from CR-S22 to Borrego Springs Rd, but CalTrans says they're not.

One scary bit: Both CalTrans and Google show no way in and out of Trona, since CA-190 and CA-178 are both closed.

Google Maps has been a bit funky lately with the closures. Pretty sure a large stretch of EB I-80 is not closed for the next 3 months...