“Conditions across the state of California have varied wildly in recent weeks. While temperatures have in general been far above average–and precipitation well below what would be typical for late winter–a handful of localized but rather remarkable weather events have taken place. An accumulating blanket of small hail blanketed the shoreline at Huntington Beach, and a similar hailstorm in the suburbs of San Jose turned the green hills white with ice.
Lightning storm over San Francisco on February 28, photo by W. Tipton
An isolated, intense, and truly spectacular severe thunderstorm rolled through South San Francisco at sunset–likely becoming one of the most widely photographed Bay Area weather events in recent years. At least one weak tornado danced across the San Joaquin Valley, and snow squalls brought weekend traffic to a standstill on Interstate 80 in the Sierra Nevada.
Yet, despite all of this wild weather, the real headline in California continues to be the exceptionally warm conditions that have persisted now for well over a year. … ”
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