Rain, fast-moving thunderstorms hit parts of Bay Area

Parts of the Bay Area got an early-morning jolt and the lightning even led to a weather warning for pilots flying near San Francisco International Airport.

The North Bay, San Anselmo and Santa Clara were among the cities in the Bay Area to get some showers during the early morning commute.

It wasn't much, but San Francisco saw four-one-hundredths of an inch of rain. The record for Tuesday is six-one-hundredths, which was set way back in 1913.

This weather caught many people by surprise. The lightning knocked out power in one Kentfield neighborhood. Even though no one was hurt, residents told ABC7 News how shocked they were about how powerful and brief the storm was.

"It was this huge noise, an explosion. It shook the house and rattled the windows," Robert mills said.

A lightning strike split a redwood tree in Ellen Mandin's yard in Kentfield and sent branches flying. Debris landed all the way down the street, cracked some windows, and damaged her fence.

"I've lived here 36 years and I've never experienced damage like this. I'm amazed," Mandin said.

Bill O'Brien was getting ready to take a shower during the storm when he got an unexpected surprise.

"I looked down, I actually saw flames come out of the spout of the shower just before I got in and then I heard the noise and I didn't know what happened. I thought the hot water heater or propane tank or a car had blown up or something. It was so loud, It was so loud it was like a bomb had gone off," O'Brien said.

In the East Bay, The O.co Coliseum in Oakland briefly lost power when it was struck by lightning early Tuesday morning. Lightning hit the Coliseum at about 5 a.m. and briefly shut off power for the stadium.

Power was restored later in the morning and no interruptions were anticipated for Tuesday evening's game between the A's and Houston Astros.

While the rain is a welcome relief for firefighters, the lightning is a huge concern in these dry drought conditions.

Marin County fire responded to several strikes, one that sent a tree up in flames.

"They saw some smoke affiliated with this lightning strike that was on the Inverness Ridge line," Marin County Fire Department spokesperson Joe Gallardo said.

National Weather Service officials said there were at least 25 lightning strikes in the Bay Area Monday night and early this morning as scattered showers and thunderstorms moved through the region.

"And then to have just one bolt out of nowhere of that magnitude, I'm sure it's a 1 in 100 years phenomenon," Mills said.

The weather will take a big turn later this week as a heat wave will hit the Bay Area Thursday through Monday.

Bay City News contributed to this report.