Rain Surprises South Bay Residents

Thunderstorms that developed near Catalina Island rolled through the South Bay on Friday afternoon, bringing large raindrops and loud thunder.

The storms hit the Beach Cities at about 1:45 p.m.

The National Weather Service said residents should expect brief, moderate rain; gusty winds; and lightning with the thunderstorms.

South Bay residents took to Twitter to express their surprise at the sudden change in the weather.

"It is thundering in #RedondoBeach! How bizarre! Halloweeny weather!" tweeted Mary.

"BREAKING: I heard thunder in LA," tweeted Colin Cooley of Hermosa Beach, adding in a second tweet, "That water stuff is even falling from the sky."

Twitter user Reese T. Peach in Hermosa Beach had a similar reaction: "It is raining. I mean thunder and rain."

"Stupid Doppler 7,000 didn't prepare me for this [kind of] weather! Left my rain boots at home…" said Jessica Root.

"Rain in Los Angeles?" asked Redondo Beach resident Genc Vadiku when he posted a photo of his windshield on Twitpic. "But it's not November yet!"

User @angi_voorhees in Rancho Palos Verdes seemed to be one of the few enjoying the storm: "Dark clouds, wind, thunder … I loveeeeee this #weather."

Even the person behind @breezepreps for the Daily Breeze got in on the Twitter action: "Rain? Are we going to have some muddy games tonight? The photogs are not going to be happy…"

Fortunately, the rain probably won't ruin any weekend plans, according to the NWS. The forecast for Saturday has a 20 percent chance of showers in the morning, but the rest of the weekend should be clear of rain.

Jacqueline Howard contributed to this report.