Pics of our washed out road

Joined
Jun 5, 2003
Messages
32,086
Location
Apple Valley, California
We had a crazy amount of rain yesterday.

When I left for work @7a my rain gauge showed 1/2 inch since midnight. 1 inch in a 24 hr period is a flood for us .

Our normal yearly total is about 8 inches.

When I came home about 3p it showed 4 inches. Rained 3.5 inches between 7a and 3p.

The most rain I have seen in a day in my 50 years of living here.

The road washed out and many people got stuck trying to get home. The pics don't show it well but there is a gully about 3 ft deep in the road and the road is calechie which is like trying to drive on grease when wet.

I pulled a couple of people out as well as helped be an anchor for the black jeep that slid into the ditch. I was able to drive up a wash to get to the top for that one.

A neighbor brought out his tractor in the pouring rain to help fix the road well enough to get another truck up the hill.

If you do not have a 4x4 it's not passable at this time.

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If the storm yesterday raised the level of his deep well today he has surface water intrusion problems.

He said this before about his well:
My well is in an aquifer that is filled by the flowing Mojave river after a heavy rain or snow melt. It takes 2 weeks from the first flow till the water reaches my well which then comes up 1 inch per day.
 
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Wow! Weather Underground says Apple Valley received 5.7" of rain in the past 24 hours. The desert soil doesn't absorb that fast, so that means flash floods.

My area of So. Calif. received 3.7" of rain. I had new gutters installed recently, and glad I did.
 
@Chris142, how's your well now? Was this enough rain to significantly raise the water table/replenish the aquifer? I hope it wasn't all lost as runoff.
The aquifer is fed by the mojave River. Currantly it's overflowing. The street to the closest town which is Hesperia,ca is closed where it crosses the river and is under several feet of water

In the past it took 2 weeks from the time the river flowed until my water level began to rise. It then rose 1 inch per day .

It has to help with my water level just not today.

My post office box is in Hesperia. There is another way to go around but it's a long way around.

Cousin Casey took the Trooper yesterday morning. The 4x4 is currently not working. It's a vacuum controlled system and I think a vacuum valve is bad. I may have to go pull her up in a little while. She stayed at a friend's last night.
 
Wow! Weather Underground says Apple Valley received 5.7" of rain in the past 24 hours. The desert soil doesn't absorb that fast, so that means flash floods.

My area of So. Calif. received 3.7" of rain. I had new gutters installed recently, and glad I did.
What's it say about Hesperia? I'm actually closer to hesperia
 
Says the same, 5.7"

Hope your home and loved ones are safe! I think we get a little break today, but more rain on the 26th. At least in my area, the coming storm will be less severe.
My gauge shows another 1.25 inches since I dumped it last night. A total of 5.25.

I will assume that the real reading is more accurate than my little glass gauge I bought @TRACTOR supply.
 
So glad you guys are getting rain. Carry on through 2026!!
It's a double-edged sword! For people living in the hills, with a view, it's mudslides. Desert folk, flash floods. Most flat landers are okay, but not all. The "low lands" can flood with runoff water. A similar situation with fire season; folks living near wilderness areas are more at risk. And speaking of fires, more rain means more brush growth, which means more fuel later in the year.

There are flood basin area in So Calif that are specifically intended to contain water during these once a decade storms. It's nuts to think this is necessary, but it's necessary.
 
It's a double-edged sword! For people living in the hills, with a view, it's mudslides. Desert folk, flash floods. Most flat landers are okay, but not all. The "low lands" can flood with runoff water. A similar situation with fire season; folks living near wilderness areas are more at risk. And speaking of fires, more rain means more brush growth, which means more fuel later in the year.

There are flood basin area in So Calif that are specifically intended to contain water during these once a decade storms. It's nuts to think this is necessary, but it's necessary.
I was born in Fullerton so yes I know the old cycles

But as my dad used to say basically why the heck are people complaining about rain we have prayed for the last 5 years!
 
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