(KRON) — A swarm of lightning strikes were recorded around the Bay Area in the past 24 hours.
U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Adrienne Freeman told KRON4 that there were approximately 88 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes recorded across the East Bay and South Bay between 7 p.m. Wednesday and 7 a.m. Thursday. KRON4 reached out to the National Weather Service for more information. However, meteorologists are still reviewing its overnight lightning data after dealing with technical issues Thursday morning, the agency told KRON4.
“We’ve had numerous weather spotters and the general public reporting thunderstorms,” the National Weather Service stated in its Thursday weather report. “These storms have resulted in brief heavy rain, gusty winds up to 30 mph, and small hail. Lightning detection networks have recorded over 3,000 strikes in the last 12 hours and over 5,000 in the last 24 hours.”
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A still of a lightning strike captured in Antioch at 12:04 a.m. (Lucas Kartana) -
Eighty-eight lightning strikes were recorded around the Bay Area between 7 p.m. Thursday and 7 a.m. Monday. (USFS) -
A graphic showing the number of lightning strikes recorded in the Bay Area, the Central Coast and the Central Valley within the past 48 hours. (NWS)
People captured video of the thunderstorms around the Bay Area. Antioch resident Lucas Kartana shared video of lightning striking in Antioch at 12:04 a.m. (seen in the player at the top of this story).
The Central Coast was hit hardest by the barrage of thunderstorms. Cal Fire Chief James Allen told KRON4 that firefighters are checking about 173 spots for potential wildfires in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties due to the storms.
While lightning is generally a wildfire concern during the fall season, the storms also dropped as much as 0.75 inches of rain in some areas, the NWS said. Showers and thunderstorms remain possible around the Bay Area into Thursday morning.
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