Flash floods, downed power poles, and road erosion from monsoonal storms that dumped heavy rain and hail on the region left several roads closed, including parts of Highway 86 that was washed out, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The following roads were still closed as of 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to the County of Imperial.
The California Highway Patrol responded to major flooding on Highway 86 that completely washed out a portion of the road and left debris scattered. Powerlines were also down, making the road impassable to drivers. Caltrans Tuesday night said Highway 86 had fully reopened to traffic.
Videos circulating on social media, like this one posted by the Instagram account imperial_valleylife, shows several big rigs and vehicles stranded in the high flood waters on Highway 86 near Elmore Ranch, around 3 miles from the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint. People can be seen standing on the roofs of their vehicles and in the beds of their pickup trucks as the rushing flood waters surrounded them.
Thunderstorms warnings prompt ground stops at Southern California airports
The severe storms brought high winds to eastern San Diego County, Imperial County and Arizona, which caused a wall of dust to form that blew across Interstate 8 and knocked some power lines onto the freeway, closing it to through traffic and causing low visibility.
A wall of dust also formed in Phoenix, Arizona, from the severe weather on Monday.
San Diego County also got hit hard with the severe thunderstorms that moved through East County, with Descanso and Pine Valley receiving the most rain and some hail, according to the National Weather Service's precipitation data.
There were hundreds of lightning strikes that hit the ground across San Diego County, part of that storm, the National Weather Service reported.
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