What's that in the air? Clouds, dust from Arizona engulf California valley
Clouds and dust are shielding Coachella Valley residents in California from the sun and they can thank Arizona for the brief respite from high temperatures.
Thunderstorms across eastern Arizona pushed the clouds and dust into the Coachella Valley overnight. Similar weather patterns will continue, and California residents shouldn't plan on seeing the blue sky until Wednesday.
"Overall, tonight and tomorrow is going to be pretty cloudy, I think," Miguel Miller, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said Monday morning. "It's all spread out now. It's kind of a bunch of residual cloudiness from a lot of active thunderstorms in Arizona."
Clouds are producing small amounts of rain that's evaporating before hitting the ground and it's unlikely the Coachella Valley will have significant precipitation this week.
The dust, which is the result of a thunderstorm near Yuma, entered the Coachella Valley about 2 a.m. Monday and initially limited visibility to three-quarters of a mile in Thermal.
Visibility improved to about four miles by 4 a.m.
"It came, it blew, it stirred up the dust and now it's beginning to settle out," Miller said of the storm.
Gusty wind nearly reached 50 mph in parts of the eastern Coachella Valley early Monday, and firefighters say it knocked over a utility pole that sparked an Indio house fire on El Paseo Avenue.
It was reported just before 3:30 a.m. and displaced four people, according to Cal Fire. There were no injuries.
Now that the sun is blocked, California residents can expect a dip in temperatures after enduring several days of heat that included a high temperature of 119 degrees on Friday.
Monday's high temperature should be about 105 degrees and Tuesday's high should be 99 to 105 degrees, although that also includes high humidity.
Authorities won't be taking advantage of the lower temperatures and continuing their search for a missing Virginia woman at the Amboy Crater National Natural Landmark.
The search for Susan Schmeirer has been stalled since June 25 because high temperatures endangered officials, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
Temperatures reached 117 degrees with ground temperatures of 165 degrees late last month and officials say they can't continue the search until there's a significant improvement in weather conditions.
Concerns about flooding and thunderstorms are adding to the delay and the search is now tentatively scheduled to continue July 28, department spokeswoman Jodi Miller said.
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