Thunderstorm activity on Friday night brought showers, lightning and wind to parts of the High Desert, while heavy rain pounded the Barstow and Newberry Spring areas.
Just before kickoff, the Barstow Unified School District took to Facebook to announce Friday night’s Barstow High School football game was delayed, then cancelled due to lightning strikes and heavy rain in the area.
Yermo resident Britney Swenson told the Daily Press she experienced pouring rain, flooded roadways, lightning, strong winds and the “loudest thunder ever.”
Swenson said winds caused a horse trailer to flip and “I almost got hit by lightning. Not sure how close but my whole world got bright white.”
Scattered, heavy rain fell in places like Apple Valley, Lucerne Valley and Hesperia due to the main storm east of the Victor Valley.
At Newtown T. Bass Stadium in Apple Valley, B.J. Thomas’ 1969 hit “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” echoed through the stadium as players, coaches and fans sought shelter from the rain.
Fans told the Daily Press the game between the Granite Hills High School cougars and visiting Vista del Lago Ravens was momentarily stopped due to the heavy rain.
A flash flood warning was issued for the Nipton area as the storm moved northeast toward the California-Nevada state line, the National Weather Service reported.
A flood watch is also in effect from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday for parts of San Bernardino County, including Wrightwood, Running Springs, Big Bear City, Big Bear Lake, Lake Arrowhead and Crestline, the weather service stated.
Showers and thunderstorms are expected to produce moderate to heavy rain in the mountains during the mid-morning to evening hours on Saturday.
Thunderstorms that develop have the potential to produce heavy rain, which has the potential to impact burn areas in the San Bernardino Mountains, including the Line, Bridge, and Apple/El Dorado burn scars.
The storm is expected to exit the area on Sunday, with cooler fall weather anticipated moving into October, NWS experts predicted.
San Bernardino County and Caltrans officials said Highway 38 between Big Bear and Angelus Oaks is expected to remain shuttered for months as crews work to repair severe damage, including several washouts along the route, caused by last week’s storm, the Daily Press reported.
(This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.)
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on X @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Thunderstorm pounds portions of High Desert, Barstow High’s football game cancelled
Reporting by Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press / Victorville Daily Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
