San Ramon Pelted With Hail, Thunder & Lightning

SAN RAMON, CA — San Ramon woke up to scattered hail, thunderstorms, and more fallen trees as rain continued to pour. Thunderstorms were reported throughout Monday night, followed by scattered lightning, thunder, hail and intermittent downpours throughout Tuesday morning.

SRVUSD students returned to school Tuesday, and no weather-related incidents on any of the campuses were reported, according to district spokesperson Ilana Samuels.

By Tuesday afternoon, some sun was peeking through the clouds in San Ramon, though gusts are still reaching as high as 25 mph. For the first time in days, no weather watches, warnings, or advisories are in effect.

The rain is expected to resume Wednesday, with 0.58 inches predicted over eight hours, alongside gusts of 36 mph.

Still, the worst of the storm is expected to shift northward Wednesday. A total of 3-7 inches of precipitation is expected to fall across California over the rest of the week. Two-day rainfall totals as of 4 a.m. Tuesday neared 17 inches in parts of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, according to the National Weather Service.

In San Ramon, Thursday is expected to be warm and sunny, although more rain is expected Friday through Monday.

PG&E reported two outages affecting 73 people each in Danville and San Ramon earlier Tuesday. At 9 a.m. PG&E reported that 52,911 out of its 93,743 local outages were in the South Bay.

The worst of the storm continued to fall along the Central Coast. Tens of thousands of California residents were evacuated in Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz counties.

The recent series of storms, which had killed 14 people as of Monday and saw a 5-year-old swept away by floodwaters in San Luis Obispo County, forced the evacuation of nearly 10,000 people in Santa Barbara County and about 32,000 in Santa Cruz County, according to the Associated Press.

Near Montecito, about 400 people and 70 horses were trapped Tuesday at the Rancho Oso RV & Camping Resort by an impassible amount of mud and debris, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

In Santa Cruz County, where the Associated Press reported that homes were recorded via drone sitting in muddy brown water, evacuation orders had been lifted in many areas by late Monday, according to county officials, while certain zones remained in an evacuation warning.

At least 14 people have died in connection with the storms since New Year’s Eve, according to AccuWeather. The most recent bout of severe weather saw a woman killed when water overtook her vehicle in Avila Beach, NBC News reported. A 5-year-old boy was swept away by floodwaters Monday in San Luis Obispo County, according to AccuWeather, which reported that as of late Monday, only the child’s shoe had been found.

SANDBAGS AND CONTACTS

To report clogged storm drains, downed trees, or flooding call 925-973-2800 (M-F, 8:30-5) or the San Ramon Valley 911 Communication Center at 925-973-2779 after hours. Sandbags are available at three locations. Residents and businesses are asked to bring a shovel:

• Athan Downs, Montevideo Drive near San Ramon Valley Blvd.
• Central Park, Alcosta Blvd. adjacent to the San Ramon Community Center
• San Ramon Sports Park, Sherwood Way
  
  
A full list of storm preparation tips are available here and at Be Ready SRV, an emergency preparedness collaboration between the Town of Danville, the City of San Ramon, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Contra Costa County, and the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. San Ramon residents can also contact the following numbers:

NON-EMERGENCY

• San Ramon Police: 925-973-2779
• Danville Police: 925-820-2144
• San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District: 925-838-6691

OTHER RESOURCES:

• Contra Costa Animal Services: 925-335-8300
• PG&E: 1-800-743-5000 San Ramon Regional Medical Center: 925-275-9200
• EBMUD: 866-403-2683

— Patch editor Anna Schier contributed to this report.