Hail and possible tornadoes hit Northern California as Southland preps for stormy weather

A storm system moving across Northern California on Wednesday brought scattered showers, marble-sized hail and even a light coating of snow, and forecasters expect the stormy weather will arrive in Central and Southern California later in the evening.

The thunderstorms mostly began in the afternoon, with bursts of hail and heavy downpours in parts of the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys.

Rancho Cordova saw nearly an inch of rain in an hour, and weather officials warned that the heavy rain could create hazardous road conditions.

In Oakdale, northeast of Modesto, a rush of small hail caused a few mobile-home carports to buckle and collapse, according to the National Weather Service.

Funnel clouds were spotted in several areas, and weather officials were trying to confirm reports of a tornado touchdown in Stanislaus County.

In Napa County, a waterspout was seen above Lake Berryessa. Matt Allen, who runs a fishing guide service, captured a brief video of the swirling vortex as it spun down from the sky.

The storms moved south, dumping more than 1.3 inches of rain in Merced and downing power lines in Stratford, while Fresno saw light showers that had largely subsided by 6 p.m., the Fresno Bee reported.

The National Weather Service expected showers and thunderstorms to arrive in Kern County later in the evening, with storms lingering through the night.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms are also expected to arrive in Southern California in the evening, particularly in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties and coastal areas of Los Angeles County. Snow could fall in areas above 6,000 feet in L.A. and Ventura counties, according to the National Weather Service.

The Southland storms could also bring small hail and heavy rains, potentially triggering debris flows in recent burn areas like Azusa and Glendora, where the Colby fire scorched more than 1,900 acres. The winds hitting mountains in L.A. and Ventura counties could reach up to 50 mph, with the most powerful gusts expected in the Interstate 5 Freeway corridor, forecaster said.

The National Weather Service predicted that Thursday will bring sunny and breezy conditions in Northern California, with temperatures warming to the mid-70s. In the Sacramento area, the temperature could reach the 80s, with warming continuing through the weekend with a high near 90 forecast for Sunday.

In the Southland, gusty winds could remain, with the small chance of thunderstorms in the San Gabriel Mountains. Temperatures on Thursday were expected to reach a high in the low 70s.

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