Thunderstorms roll over Bay Space as San Francisco sees first measurable September rain since 2019
San Francisco saw its first measurable rainfall since 2019, when thunderstorms swept across parts of the Bay Area on late Thursday and early Friday mornings and firefighters scrambled to contain new fires.
According to the National Weather Service, the official display in downtown San Francisco picked up 0.01 inches of rain as of 5 a.m. on Friday.
“It has been a long time since it rained specifically on September 10 at the official display in the city center,” the service tweeted. “The last time was 1978 with 0.08 (inches). For each day in September, the last time there was measurable rain in SF was on the 27th in 2019, 0.03 (inches).
Thunderstorms hit San Francisco on Friday before sunrise, after moving to the Bay Area on Thursday afternoon and evening. They were expected to calm down after sunrise.
Parts of the Bay Area, particularly the North Bay and East Bay, saw the occasional lightning bolt and light rain while the firefighters watched closely.
The North Bay rain readings on late Thursday ranged from 0.01 to 0.11 inches.
It was the first rain in weeks in some areas, but weather forecasters warned that dry lightning could pose a serious threat in exceptionally dry conditions.
Much of Northern California, as well as the mountains and valleys of North Bay, the hills and valleys of East Bay, and the Diablo Range had a red flag indicating that hot temperatures and low humidity combined with the risk of dry lightning and strong winds , Create conditions for forest fires to ignite and grow rapidly.
Lightning strikes and showers were reported in and around Marin, Sonoma, and Napa counties at 9:00 p.m. Thursday. Cloud-to-ground lightning strikes have been confirmed in Sonoma and Santa Clara counties, according to the National Weather Service.
The agency reported cloud-to-cloud lightning strikes over Colusa, San Joaquin and Madera counties, as well as increased storm activity west of San Francisco.
In Oakland, near Lake Merritt, the light rain was enough to interrupt a street musician’s performance on late Thursday and distract his audience.
Andy Picon is a contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: andy.picon@hearst.com Twitter: @andpicon
