Baldy Wilderness Preserve were stranded by washouts and damaged roads. Stranded hikers and campersĪs the storm approached, families camping in the Mt. New embankment and construction work east of Cajon Creek were damaged, and two new miles of Santa Fe railroad tracks were being constructed east of the creek to escape a future flood similar to The Great Flood of 1938.
Heavy downpours drenched Victorville, Barstow and Needles, with four feet of water reported in the lowlands of Needles. Rain totals included Victorville with 1 inch, Lake Arrowhead with 1.61 inches, Crestline with 1.35 inches, San Bernardino with.
Temperatures dropped so low during the storm that snow and sleet reportedly fell in the Big Bear area days after the storm had passed, the U.S. The storm, which pushed out a major heat wave, brought heavy rain and flooding to the Inland Empire, the High Desert, and the San Bernardino Mountains. The storm also put the eastern Coachella Valley under 2 inches of water.Īn estimated $2 million in damage was caused along the West Coast, but the American Meteorological Society estimated that if the 1939 storm had struck in 2004, it would have caused about $200 million in damage. The storm battered Southern California with wind gusts up to 65 mph, damaging boats, structures, utility lines, and crops, according to the L.A.
