Valley hit by isolated thunderstorms; winds expected to rake region

Fast-moving thunderstorms left parts of the central San Joaquin Valley drenched with short downpours and hail Sunday afternoon, ahead of gusty winds that are expected to arrive in the area overnight and into Monday.

A thunderstorm rolled east over Madera Ranchos as it produced nearly quarter-sized hail and provided a quick soaking of rain, said Carlos Molina, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford.

In the South Valley, a thunderstorm that flew past Coalinga and moved into Kings County produced 1 inch-sized hail near Stratford around 8 p.m. as it headed east at 30 mph, according to the weather service. The storm was also reported to produce 0.75 inch to half-dollar sized hail stones in Tulare around 9:50 p.m.

Roadway flooding was reported in the area of Cross and 5th streets in Stratford by the California Highway Patrol around 8:25 p.m. A power outage occurred around 8:50 p.m., affecting over 400 customers in the Corcoran area, the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said.

The storms formed from afternoon heating as highs reached 70 degrees. The storms were expected to die off after sunset.

Molina said residents should keep a watchful eye for falling objects and things tumbling or flying into the area as winds across the Valley are expected to pick up overnight Sunday and howl throughout the day Monday.

Gusts up to 35 mph are expected across the west side of the Valley, while the east side could see gusts of 15 to 25 mph. To the south, winds were expected to gust up to 45 mph along Highway 58 through the Tehachapi Pass and Interstate 5 through the Grapevine to Southern California.

The high winds are expected to end Monday evening as Tuesday is expected to remain quiet, the weather service said. Temperatures are expected to hover in the 60s for the rest of the week as storm systems keep a few clouds across the Valley with slight chances of rain later this week.

This story was originally published April 24, 2016 at 7:50 PM with the headline "Valley hit by isolated thunderstorms; winds expected to rake region."