Rain, lightning to give way to warm weekend weather

<p>Thunder and lightning greeted the dawn as thousands of Sonoma County school children faced their final day of the school year - their picnics, graduations and other year-end celebrations fouled by continuing rainfall.</p><p>At least eight lightning strikes were detected as the clouds opened up and dumped rain and even hail across the region, the National Weather Service said.</p><p>of the lightning strikes were detected within a triangular area between Rohnert Park, Windsor and Occidental, he said.</p><p>Almost half an inch of rain fell in The Geysers, and about 1/3 inch dropped on Lake Sonoma, National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Anderson said.</p><p>“We're going to be doing this all day,” he warned.</p><p>Some surface flooding was reported on area roads very early Thursday morning, but, besides several minor injury crashes, authorities reported no major weather-related problems.</p><p>Several areas of Santa Rosa and neighborhoods southwest of Sebastopol had morning power outages, PG&E said.</p><p>The profuse rainfall at least meant there was limited fire danger despite the number of lightning strikes touching down, Anderson said.</p><p>But for thousands of school children anticipating outdoor escapades celebrating the arrival of summer vacation, the rain - and the ongoing threat of it throughout the week - was an obvious downer.</p><p>Game Day at Hidden Valley Elementary School in Santa Rosa, which otherwise might include a balloon toss or a water slide, was modified to accommodate the chilly, damp weather and moved under cover - into hallways, classrooms, the covered quad or the cafeteria, Principal Patty McCaffrey said.</p><p>“We planned all week, Plan A and Plan B - everything from our moving-on ceremony with our sixth-graders on Tuesday to our different class picnics,” she said. “We've been able to find a facility and rotate kids through, so everybody got at least a little something special this last week.”</p><p>The impact of weather was more profoundly felt at Windsor Middle School, where moving the promotion ceremony for eighth-graders indoors meant limiting students to two guests only.</p><p>“I don't think anyone's fine with it,” Windsor Unified School District Superintendent Steve Herrington said when asked about the students' reaction.</p><p>Held outside, there's no limit on the number of people who can attend, Herrington said.</p><p>“It's the first time, I think, in the (15-year) history of the school that they've had to do an inside graduation,” he said.</p><p>Thunderstorms and occasional hail were expected throughout the day, through evening, Anderson, with the Weather Service, said.</p><p>Clouds will linger Friday morning, but afterward? “Beautiful,” Anderson said.</p><p>“It will be clearing rapidly tomorrow afternoon. You'll see some clouds in the morning tomorrow, but it will definitely be be warming and drying out in the afternoon,” he said.</p><p>The weekend forecast: “Saturday, beautiful; Sunday, awesome; Monday, more awesome. Perfect way to start off the barbecue season,” he said.</p><p>Temperatures should be in the mid-70s through the weekend, gradually warming toward early next week and “flirting with 80 by Wednesday,” Anderson said.</p>