Thunderstorms bring hail to Sacramento region; heavy rainfall and strong winds possible
Thunderstorms were moving through the Sacramento region Wednesday afternoon, hitting the area with large amounts of small hail, strong wind and heavy rainfall, the National Weather Service reported.
At 2:02 p.m. Wednesday, strong thunderstorms were clustered near Woodland and moving northeast at 15 mph, according to the weather service. Scattered thunderstorms also continued to develop throughout the area. By 1:30 p.m., residents were already reporting on social media of small hail falling in the Davis and Woodland areas.
About 4 p.m., strong thunderstorms were moving through Carmichael, moving northeast at 15 mph, according to the weather service. Forecasters said these storms also would affect western El Dorado and southwestern Placer counties.
Large amounts of dime-size hail fell in the Carmichael area with heavy rainfall, thunder and some lightning Wednesday afternoon. Smaller amounts of hail were still falling in the area as of 5 p.m.
As of 10:30 am. Thursday, the downtown Sacramento area had received 0.25 of an inch of rain over the past 24 hours, said Eric Kurth, a meteorologist with the weather service. He said North Sacramento received 0.86 of an inch of rain, and Fair Oaks had 0.52 of inch of rain.
Weather service forecasters warned these storms could impact Sacramento Roseville, Davis, Rocklin, Woodland, West Sacramento, Dixon, Winters, Knights Landing, Madison, Zamora, Robbins, Kirkville, Rio Linda, Nicolaus, Pleasant Grove, Elverta, the Sleep Train Arena area and Verona. Folsom and Rocklin were later added to the list of cities that could be impacted by storm.
The storms could possibly produce accumulating small hail and wind gusts in excess of 30 mph. The weather service also warned that these storms may cause localized flooding and very slippery roads. Forecasters urged drivers not to drive vehicles through flooded roads; conditions can deteriorate rapidly.
”Be prepared for hail-covered roads,” said a report from the weather service. “Slow down and allow extra time when traveling.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 2:40 PM.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported 6-hour rainfall totals.
