Some Bay Area residents were startled when an unusual weather system brought lightning and thunder to the region overnight.
There were reports of lightning strikes in a number of areas Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, including off the coast of Pacifica and at San Francisco International Airport, according to the National Weather Service.
The lightning strikes in the Pacifica area were ongoing for more than half an hour beginning around 2 a.m., National Weather Service forecaster Diana Henderson said.
"Lightning and thunder doesn't happen often in the Bay Area," Henderson said. However, she added, "It was short-lived."
There were light rain showers near SFO overnight, an airport duty manager said. No flights were affected, he said.
It was the first time since June 4 that rainfall has been recorded at the airport, the weather service said on its Facebook page this morning.
Around 10 p.m. in Mountain View, the weather service received reports of light rainfall at Moffett Field.
On Wednesday, isolated thunderstorms were possible throughout the Bay Area, including in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, Henderson said.
-- Bay City News
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