Northern California was hit with more than 800 separate lightning strikes on Monday as unusual weather patterns inundated the Bay Area.
Strong wind gusts between 35 and 50mph began in the early morning hours, with Bay Area residents braving temperatures that climbed to 90 degrees later in the day, according to SFgate.com.
By the time rain and lighting storms started barreling in towards San Jose and San Francisco, people started expressing their frustration and confusion over social media.
Lightning fills the sky in a rare thunderstorm in San Francisco on September 11, 2017
Lightning forks over the San Francisco’Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes through Oakland, California, Monday, Sept. 11, 2017
Seen from Oakland, Calif., lightning forks over the San Francisco skyline on Monday, Sept. 11, 2017
Lightning strikes near AT&T Park before the San Francisco Giants game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 11, 2017 in San Francisco, California
Twitter users expressed frustration and anger at the the unusual weather they experience on Monday
‘So I’m in San Jose, it was 90 degrees at 4, by 5 its 70 out yet it’s rain thunder and lightning,’ one user said.
The National Weather Service later said they recorded 800 separate lightning strikes between noon and 5pm on Monday.
At one point, the lightning storms were so sever that the Palo Alto Fire Department tweeted out warnings for residents not to go outside.
‘Lightning & thunder passing over @cityofpaloalto right now. When thunder roars, head indoors!!!,’ the PAFD wrote.
One Twitter user crystallized the department’s weather warning after posting a picture of a tree near their home.
‘Lighting struck this tree 50 meters from my house,’ the social media user said.
Lightning storms in northern California were so severe at one point, the Palo Alto Fire Department warned residents not to go outside
The lightning stikes, which The National Weather Service said reached over 800 on Monday, hit a little close to home for some
Lightning fills the sky in a rare thunderstorm in San Francisco on September 11, 2017. The cool marine layer and the city’s famous fog rarely allow such displays
In this 30-second time exposure made late Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017, bolts of lightning strike near Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands National Park
The National Weather Service said that there was a 20 to 30 per cent chance that the lightning storms would return Tuesday evening.
More than 40,000 separate lighting strikes were recorded across California in all, with much of the activity centered in the southern part of the state.
‘We’re still not quite out of the woods yet as models show another increase in instability this afternoon, especially across interior [San Luis Obispo] County,’ the weather service said in a statement.