San Diego lightning storm today: Latest update from California city as scary videos emerge; ‘this is kinda cool…’
A powerful lightning storm lit up the skies over parts of San Diego County late Thursday, as the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a severe thunderstorm warning. Videos circulating on social media showed repeated lightning flashes illuminating the night sky.
According to NWS, Doppler radar detected a strong thunderstorm at 10:36 pm PDT (1:36 am ET) near Interstate 8 between Boulevard and the Imperial County line. The storm was moving west at around 20 mph.
A 43-minute uncut video shot from Shelter Island shows the sky lighting up in intervals.
The NWS warned that the strongest storms could produce marble-sized hail measuring up to 0.5 inches and wind gusts reaching 50 mph. The weather service has urged residents outdoors to seek shelter inside sturdy buildings until the storms passed.
The alert remained in effect until 11:15 pm PDT (2:15 am ET) on Thursday.
NWS warned of hail, gusty winds and dangerous lightning
Meteorologists warned that gusty winds could bring down tree limbs and blow unsecured outdoor objects. Minor damage to vegetation from hail was also possible.
The warning covered several communities across eastern San Diego County, including Boulevard, Campo, Jacumba, Live Oak Springs, Tierra del Sol, southern Mount Laguna, and parts of the La Posta, Campo and Manzanita Indian Reservations. Portions of Highway S2 and Interstate 8 were also included in the advisory
Videos shared on X, Instagram and other social media platforms captured frequent lightning strikes across the region. Some clips showed multiple bolts illuminating mountain ridges and desert landscapes.
The video below shows continuous lightning strikes captured from Imperial Valley towards the west. The video shows the intense storm on the San Diego County Mts.
Some users reported booming thunder. One user on X wrote, “hey dows any body know who summoned the lightning demon to east county san diego . i am afraid.”
Meteorologist Chris Nunley reported that storms were developing over the Southern California Mountains on Thursday afternoon. The expert shared a picture of the radar that showed developing storms at 2:35 pm (5:35 ET).
(This is a developing story)