Hail Pelts Antelope Valley; Power Lost During Storm

A freak storm brought mothball-sized hail, lightning and rain to the Antelope Valley on Tuesday afternoon, causing traffic accidents, power outages and a small brush fire, authorities said.

At least three traffic accidents were reported during the storm, which started about 3 p.m. and lasted about 45 minutes. The sudden downpour created minor flooding on some streets and witnesses reported hailstones nearly half an inch thick, said Bill Hoffer of the National Weather Service.

A brush fire, apparently started by a lightning strike at Avenue N and 60th Street in Lancaster, burned about three acres, said Art Marrujo, a dispatch supervisor for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. No one was injured and no structures were burned.

“It’s been kind of crazy,” said Lt. Steven Fredericks of the Antelope Valley sheriff’s station.

The storm also downed some utility lines, he said.

About 11,700 Southern California Edison Co. customers lost electrical power in Lancaster and Palmdale, a spokesman said.

An upper-level low-pressure system of unstable air from the equator to the north pole merged with a high-pressure system to create the storm, said Bill Hoffer of the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

A low-pressure system off the West Coast merged with a high-pressure system centered over Colorado, drawing moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. The moisture mixed with warm air, creating an unstable atmosphere and causing thunderstorms, said Robert Baruffaldi, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

The weather service was predicting a 20% chance of rain Tuesday night and today, and a 10% chance of rain Thursday, Hoffer said.

The San Fernando Valley also got some rain Monday night. Chatsworth had .03 of an inch, Northridge and Woodland Hills had .01 of an inch and Newhall had .02 of an inch, Hoffer said.

Elsewhere, heavy rain closed northbound Interstate 15 at Barstow, Highway 395 was washed out in Inyo County, and Highway 18 in Apple Valley was also closed, the California Highway Patrol said.