Hundreds of lightning strikes sparked throughout the Bay Space and Central Coast Wednesday and Thursday as a low strain system handed by way of, bringing with it a spattering of rain and a cooldown that’s set to finish as Friday and Saturday’s temperatures warmth up once more.
Over a 24-hour interval from Wednesday to Thursday morning, roughly 5,000 lightning strikes touched down throughout the areas, mentioned Nationwide Climate Service Meteorologist Nicole Sarment. No additional lightning was anticipated within the Bay Space Thursday afternoon or night.
A map of lightning strikes from the Nationwide Climate Service shared Thursday morning confirmed giant quantities of lightning clustered in Contra Costa and Alameda counties over the earlier two days. Strikes had been recorded throughout everything of Contra Costa, with the very best focus within the east facet of the county, whereas strikes in Alameda County had been centered virtually solely within the county’s east facet.
Strikes had been additionally recorded in southwestern Santa Clara County, passing up San Jose and with solely a handful of strikes within the japanese a part of the county.
The lightning skipped the Peninsula virtually solely – save for a single recorded flash in San Francisco, in line with the map.
“There were several storms. It wasn’t just one, but yes, they were very wet thunderstorms,” Sarment mentioned. “We’re mainly done for in terms of potential for lightning.”
In Brentwood, some residents discovered the inflow of lightning unsettling, together with Mayor Susannah Meyer.
“It’s been so muggy lately, and I saw there was a slight chance of rain, but I didn’t expect a full-on thunder and lightning show,” Meyer mentioned, including that she was woken up in the course of the night time by “booming” noises.
The storm induced temporary blackouts in two Brentwood neighborhoods — Shadow Lakes and Brentwood Hills, mentioned Brentwood Vice Mayor Pa’tanisha Pierson.
Brentwood resident Jeff Weisinger, who was teaching soccer at an Oakley highschool Wednesday night, described the lightning as a “cool light show.”
“We don’t get a lot of (bad) weather out here,” he mentioned. “Sometimes it’s a combination of cool and a little scary.”
Officers couldn’t affirm whether or not a home hearth that broke out in Brentwood shortly after midnight Thursday was began by lightning, however Lauren Ono, Contra Costa Fireplace Safety District public data officer, mentioned that lightning was reported within the space across the time the two-story construction caught hearth.
The lighting got here from a cut-off circulate off the coast of Monterey, which is a standalone low strain system, whereas a cluster of storms introduced rain throughout the Bay Space, Sarment mentioned. South Bay cities equivalent to Gilroy noticed the very best concentrations of precipitation, with the realm receiving slightly below an inch of rain Wednesday.
Mt. Madonna, which is situated between Gilroy and Santa Cruz, acquired the very best recorded rain degree, hitting 1.18 inches, Sarment mentioned.
The cut-off circulate was nonetheless lingering south of the Bay Space Thursday, bringing rain showers to Monterey County and different southern factors, Sarment added.
The climate was anticipated to warmth again up Friday and Saturday, with temperatures rising to the mid to higher 80s in San Jose and the mid 70s in Oakland, Sarment mentioned. Some areas of Contra Costa County may hit the low to mid-90s. The Peninsula’s bayside will heat to the mid-80s whereas the coastside will hit solely the mid-60s.
“The heat will be the notable thing,” Sarment mentioned.
A cluster of rain programs will attain the Bay Space on Sunday and keep by way of Wednesday, bringing with them a cooldown of temperatures as a system arrives from Alaska, Sarment added.
“There is rain expected, … but it’s not going to be non-stop rain,” Sarment mentioned. “We’re not expecting any widespread flooding or anything.”
The rain will convey increased precipitation totals to the North Bay and decrease within the South Bay, Sarment added.
“It’ll definitely cool off with the help of the rain and the cloud cover,” Sarment mentioned.
