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Lightning strikes, hail and rain falls, and floodwaters flow throughout patches of Southern California

by in News

Unstable rain clouds scattered throughout the Southland on Wednesday pelted residents, bringing thunder and lightning, flooding a major freeway, and in some places, dropping rarely seen hail.

The inconsistent rain poured intensely in some metro areas, while creating only a light mist in others.

  • A driver plows through a flooded portion of Del Amo Blvd during a heavy thunder and hail storm in Long Beach on Wednesday, Mar. 20, 2019.. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

  • A woman pushes a baby stroller along Topanga Canyon Blvd. at Saticoy Street on Wednesday, March 20, 2019. As she crossed the intersection on the first day of Spring, there were lighting strikes, hail and heavy rain. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

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  • Rain subsided at Cal Poly Pomona, Calif. in the late afternoon Wednesday March 20, 2019. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Hail fell in Long Beach on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy Pat Archbold)

  • Hail seen in North Long Beach on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy Long Beach Police Department)

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The most aggressive portion of the storm fell onto the north Long Beach, Compton and Carson areas, dropping more than one and a half inches of rain in a three-hour period, the National Weather Service said.

“It just parked itself for three hours,” said NWS Meteorologist Ryan Kittell. In contrast, 16 miles north in downtown Los Angeles, Kittell said the rain was too light to even register a fraction of an inch.

The more southern downpour forced temporary closures on the 710 Freeway as two to three feet of floodwater swallowed most of the lanes that run beneath the 91 Freeway bridge, said Long Beach Fire Department Capt. Jason Crabtree. One van was stuck in the waters, while several other vehicles had stalled out. California Highway Patrol officers diverted traffic moving north and south on the 710 to the 91. Most lanes opened to traffic by the evening, but the northbound 710 connector to eastbound 91 remained closed.

A large commercial building at 1555 East Del Amo Boulevard in Carson was evacuated after rainwater bore a small hole through the roof, said Joseph Napoli, a spokesman with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. There were no injuries reported.

The storm also brought the rare occurrence of hail, blanketing parked cars, sidewalks and streets in parts of Long Beach, Compton, Lakewood, the Santa Clarita Valley, the San Fernando Valley, downtown Riverside, and portions of Orange County, as far south as Cypress and further north in Brea.

As the hail fell, it took form in multiple sizes — some were as small as a BB pellet, others as large as a marble, Kittell said.

For the most part, the hail is a result of clouds that are stronger in nature, as well as more wind in the atmosphere, said Adam Roser, also an NWS meteorologist.

As the sound of thunder boomed throughout large portions of the region, lightning struck only in a few places. And in Bell Gardens, the lightning struck twice. The first bolt jolted an electrical pole on Gage Avenue and Chalet Drive, forcing crews to close both sides of the road, Bell Gardens police said. The second strike came within minutes, zapping another electrical pole less than a mile away at the 6800 block of Suva Avenue. Live electrical wires were strung out on the ground.

With the storm dying out by Wednesday evening, there is still a chance of more scattered showers Thursday.

“But one difference is it doesn’t look as unstable,” Kittell said. “So no thunderstorms — definitely less interesting.”

The weekend is expected to be dry, but on Saturday, a cold front will blow in along the coast from the Pacific Northwest, Kittell said. Temperature highs are expected in the 60s with lows in the 50s.