Lightning, hail, snow reported in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino counties

Some two-dozen lightning strikes, thunder, pea-sized hail and even mountain snow were reported Tuesday in Sonoma and Napa counties.

The unstable weather was confirmed Tuesday afternoon by the National Weather Service.

“There’s been maybe a half-dozen (lightning strikes) in the Santa Rosa area of Sonoma County,” said meteorologist Rick Canepa, who works with the Monterey-based agency. “Napa (County) reported the most.”

The strikes were reported starting at about 2 p.m., he said, and continued into the late afternoon and early evening as more reports came in. Hail was reported to be coming down just before 6 p.m. in the downtown and northwest areas of Santa Rosa.

Snow was seen in the mountains surrounding Round Valley and Covelo in Mendocino County.

A special weather statement was issued by the weather service for the Napa-Yountville-Silverado Resort area for 4-4:30 p.m. Tuesday regarding the hail and 30 mph winds.

This type of weather is not unusual if there is a subfreezing pool of air aloft, Canepa said.

“Once the sun starts warming the ground, it creates an unstable air mass and we get lightning strikes and rain,” he said.

The storm system is expected to leave the area by Wednesday morning and move to the central Sierra Nevada, Canepa said.

You can reach Staff Writer Kathleen Coates at kathleen.coates@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5209.