More wild weather ahead: hail, lightning, rain, winds

Wild weather Friday left nearly 50,000 Southern California Edison customers without power, drenched some foothill communities and resulted in several lightning strikes.

Most of the action occurred in the morning, when thunder and lightning storms moved through the region, hitting parts of northern Orange County particularly hard. Lightning struck several trees and power lines in Fullerton.

Warnings of heavy downpours for Friday afternoon turned into short-lived storms in some parts of Orange County and East Los Angeles. In some areas, such as Altadena, there were reports of marble and pea-sized hail and bursts of heavy rain. Gusts of wind also hit some areas, traveling at 30-40 mph. More thunderstorms are expected into the evening Friday and Saturday, but mostly in the mountain areas to the west in Ventura County, said Eric Boldt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Cooler weather is expected to move in starting Sunday. “Anytime you get rain, you’ll get more traffic due to wet roads,” Boldt said. “But with tomorrow being the weekend, that shouldn’t be too much a problem.”