San Francisco

Heavy Rain Rolls Through Parts of Bay Area

Heavy rain rolled through parts of the San Francisco Bay Area Thursday with South and East Bay cities receiving showers throughout the afternoon. Thunder was also reported in parts of the South Bay.

Rain was reported in parts of San Jose, Cupertino, Sunnyvale and Palo Alto.

Scattered thunderstorms hit the coasts of central and Southern California on Thursday ahead of a stronger dousing of rain and snow expected to sweep much of the drought-stricken state before the weekend.

The storm's first rains have been felt from Santa Maria to Santa Monica, but most of the Los Angeles areas have remained dry so far. And don't expect the dousing to ease the state's worsening water shortage, National Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Kittell said. "It won't have any huge impact on the drought, but any little bit will help, especially if we get some snow in the mountains,'' he said.

About a quarter-inch of rain is expected in Northern California before the storm winds down, National Weather Service forecaster Diana Henderson said.

"Even using the word, `storm,' is probably hyperbole,'' she said.

But it could end up packing a bigger punch in Southern California.

Scattered showers and possible thunderstorms Friday are expected to follow an initial period of steady rain Thursday, Kittell said.

Up to a half-inch of rain could fall in and around downtown Los Angeles, while foothill neighborhoods might see about an inch. Flooding and debris flows are possible if thunderstorms form over foothill areas stripped bare by wildfires.

In the mountains, the storm may dump up to 2 inches of snow as low as 5,000 feet.

Kittell said a mid-May storm packing so much moisture in Southern California is rare, though the region got a similar dousing last week.

 

A #downpour out of nowhere. El Camino looks like a river. ��☔️

A video posted by Noemí ������ (@thepaintedlady22) on May 14, 2015 at 1:09pm PDT

 

Just came out of no where and lasted for like 8 mins. #rain #hail #california

A video posted by Michelle (@mitchfitt) on May 14, 2015 at 12:50pm PDT

 

This happened for about 15 minutes. What drought?

A video posted by Alex Escamilla (@darths1d1ous) on May 14, 2015 at 1:03pm PDT

 

It's hailing

A photo posted by Yolanda Carr (@grams1211) on May 14, 2015 at 12:37pm PDT

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us