Community Corner

Stunning Photos and Video Capture Rare Lightning Over Pacifica

More lightning is expected to strike Tuesday night.

A series of unusual thunderstorms lit up the Coast Monday night, and some Pacificans were able to capture the lightning show in photos (see the series above) and video, like the one above by Edward Sawacki, taken overlooking Manor and Sharp Park from Farallon Avenue, and another video by Alfonso Castellanos that can be seen by clicking here. Photographer Robert Co also blogged about the experience and added some spectacular photos here.

Tuesday evening there could be more. The National Weather Service has extended a red-flag warning for parts of the Bay Area, as more lightning is expected to strike Tuesday afternoon and later into the evening, a forecaster said.

The warning will be in effect for the East Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains through midnight, forecaster Steve Anderson said.

Find out what's happening in Pacificawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The weather service has recorded more than 15,000 lighting strikes in and around the Bay Area since Monday at noon, he said.
Ninety percent of those strikes were reported about 100 miles offshore in the Pacific Ocean, Anderson said.
The lighting is caused by a low-pressure system that is hovering in the area, he said.

"This is the typical weather that Phoenix and other desert areas experience, without the heat," Anderson said. "The low pressure will spin off through today [Tuesday] and slowly start moving northeast Wednesday afternoon," he said.

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Find out what's happening in Pacificawith free, real-time updates from Patch.


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