Tropical Storm Kay spread havoc throughout the Imperial Valley Friday.
According to the National Weather Service, as much as 4 inches of rain fell in a 12 hour period. Numerous county roads were flooded, there were scattered power outages from the border to Coachella Valley, rock slides closed Interstate 8 for several hours and dozens of traffic accidents were reported. Highway 78 was closed at Highway 86 to San Diego. Among the county roads that flooded were Imler Road from Forrester to Huff Road, Huff Road from Imler to Worthington Road, Ogilby Road from Interstate 8 to State Route 78, McCabe from Yourman to Bowker and Dunaway from Even Hewes to Interstate 8. These roads are expected to remain closed until further notice. Friday morning winds were measured at 80+ mph in the Pine Valley area but winds were generally not a factor in Imperial Valley.
Late Friday the National Weather Service said that Kay had weakened considerably but a Flood Watch remains in effect until late Saturday evening. Expect scattered showers and possible thunderstorms especially in the southwestern portion of the Valley. NWS says that the storm has weakened, conditions can change at any time.
Imperil County Fire Department reported that they distributed 2,200 filled sandbags and 8,000 empty bags were provided to local cities.