Crazy San Jose Weather

So, anyone who knows me should know that I'm somewhat of a weather junkie. Its a hobby of mine. Severe weather, and particularly lightning and tornados, just fascinate me. Sadly, I live in California, where wacky weather is hardly the norm. A "bad weather day" for us is usually half a day of rain, and then a few showers. Not today, though. It's been a wacky day, well, a wacky week, actually, for weather around these parts.

Here's a taste of what's been happening around these parts today.

The biggest news was probably the Tornado Warning in my hometown of Morgan Hill. A Tornado Warning (as opposed to a Watch) means either a tornado had been spotted, or the radar indicated that there's almost certainly a tornado in the cell. Insane. I have yet to hear if a tornado actually touched down in my hometown. Here's the radar:



Pretty intense. The Bay Area gets a tornado maybe once every 5 years or so. For it to happen in my parents' town is pretty insane.

This storm also produced some big-ass hail for our area. Found a picture of that.



Highway 101 in San Jose was also closed today because of extreme flooding. Actually, as far as I know, its still closed.



And then, of course, is the lightning and thunder. A few times a year, the Bay Area will actually get some lightning and thunder, but its not nearly often enough. Today, at least in the Santa Clara Valley, its been happening pretty much all day. A bolt of lightning actually hit a house in South San Jose, starting a fire. Around me, its been mostly just flashes and rumbles of thunder. A few rumbles actually rattled the building I'm in, but nothing too spectacular.



So, needless to say, its been an interesting weather day. Let's just hope nothing got too damaged...especially since we aren't done yet, and there's a few more storms lined up out in the Pacific, ready to continue the madness.