Scattered storms, lightning hit Southern California and prompt beach closures
In the video above, the U.S. National Weather Service office in Oxnard, California, is warning people to stay out of the water because a system of small, scattered storms has produced several brief but severe lightning and thunderstorms.
The NOAA National Water Quality Assessment site is reporting that Orange, Santa Monica and Long Beach Counties have seen significant concentrations of bacteria in their water that could be harmful for human health.
About 7 million people in Southern California have been told to stay out of the water because of the storm, according to the California Department of Public Health website. At the height of the storm Thursday, water officials put flags out on the beach to warn people to stay out of the water.
It has been a relatively uneventful night for the area — although the winds have picked up and the rain has come in heavy. There has been no significant wind damage, and the only damage has been to trees and power lines.
It’s not known yet just how serious the storm damage is, but the weather services are issuing a flash flood warning for a large swath of Southern California. The National Weather Service in Oxnard is also warning people to stay off the beaches.
(Thanks to KNBC and AP for that report.)
There’s nothing like a major storm to get you out on the water. Today, one of the most violent storms in decades hit the coast. It’s being called one of the most destructive storms in the history of the Golden State.
It’s hard to imagine this storm hitting one of the most affluent areas in the country, but we were treated to a storm unlike any experienced in the United States in a long time.
Over three hours of lightning and thunder, this storm produced more than 4,100 lightning strikes, including the most powerful strikes that have ever been documented in the US.
The storm has also produced multiple “tornadoes” since it has been hitting the area, and there were reports of homes being destroyed in the fire-devastated area.
Some parts of the affected areas saw several inches of rain, which has caused flooding in areas along the coast.
A large part of the coast is underwater and is being treated as a humanitarian disaster.
One of the areas impacted is the Los
