Rain, Lightning Unite in Wetting Ceremony

New bride Shannon Wickman received a sign from the heavens during her outdoor wedding ceremony Saturday night, when lightning bolts and a quick thundershower streaked Orange County skies.

“It was kind of scary at first, because right after we said ‘I do,’ the lightning struck and it began thundering and raining,” Wickman said from her reception. “It was like God was talking to us. . . . So we figured this one is going to last.”

The scattered thundershowers and lightning occurred Saturday night over parts of Orange County, with heavier rains reported in the Saddleback Valley.

At the wedding celebration for Wallace and Shannon Wickman, both 30, best man and reception host Brian Wilson said the surprise bridal shower struck just minutes after a group of about 40 guests stood clustered under the sycamore trees on the lawn of his east El Toro apartment complex. Several little girls dressed up for the occasion squealed as they ran for cover from the darkening sky.

“We lucked out,” Wilson said, adding that the planned outdoor reception party had to be moved inside his two-bedroom apartment, as a light drizzle continued to fall Saturday night.

The thunder and lightning were part of a storm system in the greater Los Angeles area mountains that was blown back toward the coast, according to meteorologist Steve Fletcher from WeatherData, which supplies forecasts to The Times.

The storm front was generated by a low-pressure system in northwestern Arizona that caused moist air from the Pacific Ocean to be pulled in toward the mountains, Fletcher said.

“The storms get kicked up as the moisture lifts off the mountains, then the wind blows them back out over the Orange County and Los Angeles area,” Fletcher said. “It’s fairly common for this time of year to get showers.”

The effects created cloudbursts that were reported in Mission Viejo and other areas of the Saddleback Valley, located just below the Santa Ana Mountains. Coastal areas reported less rain and clearer skies on Saturday.

Today’s forecast calls for partly cloudy skies through Monday with a chance of showers and a partial clearing by Tuesday. Weekend high temperatures are expected to reach the mid-70s along the coast and the mid-80s inland, while lows will dip into the upper 50s.

Times staff writer James M. Gomez contributed to this story.