Heavy rain, strong winds, and hail raked the Imperial Valley Saturday.

The thunderstorms dropped between 2 and 4 inches of rain on various parts of the County causing flooded streets and roads and hazardous driving conditions with visibility near zero during the peak of the storm activity. City and County Public Works crews worked throughout the day and into the night to remove downed trees and debris from streets and roads. The Imperial Irrigation District reported scattered power outages with downed utility poles and power lines. Over 4,600 IID customers in El Centro and Imperial were without electricity for a time Saturday afternoon. Winds were reported at better than 45 miles per hour. Dime-size hail was also reported. 

Flash flooding occurred as washes ran full. It was reported that 9 individuals had to be evacuated from an area near Senators Wash when they were trapped by the roaring waters. A helicopter was called in for the rescue. Several accidents were reported on Mt. Springs grade as rock slides hit interstate 8. 

A section of El Centro Regional Medical Center was flooded by the accumulation of water running off a parking lot. Fire Department and City Pubic Works crews worked to pump the water out of the facility.