A number of storm cells moved out of the mountains on Thursday. A lot of rain dropped down on Palm Desert and surrounding cities.
"It was very heavy. It was like the sky opened up and it was just frightening, thundering, rain coming down. I haven't seen this in a long time. I've been here 10 years. And I've never seen anything like this," said Palm Desert merchant Harriet Eckstein.
There were no reports of flooding or mudslides.
Everyone seemed to welcome the change in the weather. Tourists took pictures of the storm as it struck.
"We came here figuring it would be hot. Here we're getting cool, nice rain, so to speak. It's a little bit windy but ... I'm used to different weather," said tourist Jim Shepherd. "I came from Northern California, and now I live in Central Valley ... I mean, we were expecting real hot weather and we got a couple of days of it and ... Fresno, Clovis area, it's real hot."
Shortly after noon, the storm had moved on. There are reports, however, of flooding in the Blythe area.
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