One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Freak Storm in Southland: It's Like Thunder, Lightning
Photo by chickpokipsie via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
After a thermometer-busting week, the Southland is getting rocked by thunder, rain, hail and the possibility of flash floods that will continue into Sunday, according to weather reports.
This morning a storm moved over Costa Mesa and into Huntington Beach, pelting Orange County residents with hail, before heading north.
"We heard the thunder and then all of a sudden we heard on the roof the slamming of the hail," Costa Mesa Police Officer J. Horn told L.A. Now. "They were good-sized hail — like big shooter marbles."
The storm is supposed to be especially bad in inland valleys and in the mountains. Frequent lightning and wind gusts up to 50 miles an hour are expected near Castaic Lake and Pyramid Lake.
It was bad north of the Grapevine, too. The Los Angeles County Fire Department tweeted this morning that they were helping out firefighters in Kern County, where a dry lightning storm sparked about 40 fires.
Sporadic power outages were reported, but Southern California Edison told the Associated Press that all electricity has been restored so far.
Be careful out there driving today. We're sure you know how to drive in rain and hail — it's all those other yahoos you gotta watch out for.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
