Lake County >> Area residents can expect more rain and cooler than normal temperatures for the next few days.
The county received an average of about .25 inches this weekend, according to 24-hour rainfall totals gathered Monday afternoon by the National Weather Service (NWS). In some places, rainfall was heavy — if brief. In others precipitation was something viewed from a distance.
One trend was clear amid the scattered showers: higher elevations received more rainfall.
According to reports, the Clearlake Fire Protection District responded to a house hit by lightning on Sunday afternoon. No injuries were reported.
In Kelseyville, crews responded to a flooded house. A surge of water went through the home on Soda Bay Road, “just like a big wave,” according to firefighter Dan Mola. Reportedly, 4 inches of water passed through the home, leaving a substantial amount of water damage.
“It’s going to be this way for closer to a week, on and off showers especially for the hills,” NWS forecaster Karl Swanberg said. “It’s going to be hit or miss.”
Swanberg predicts the weather to be unsettled and cool with partly cloudy skies, light showers and isolated evening thunderstorms until about Thursday. Temperatures cooler than normal — with highs in the upper 60s to low 70s and lows in the 40s — will hold through until then as well.
Going into the weekend, Swanberg said conditions will dry out and begin to warm up. Skies will continue to be partly cloudy Friday and over the weekend, but the temperature highs and lows will rise slightly to the upper 70s and lower 80s and 50s in the evenings.
Last year, May in Lake County saw almost no rainfall, with only one day of precipitation registered at about a 10th of an inch, according to Accuweather. The May average is .85 inches.
The weekend rainfall was not enough to cause a significant impact to the Clear Lake water levels. After hitting a high for the year at 4.55 feet on the Rumsey guage mid-April, the number has slowly decreased. The May average is 5.86 feet, and the gauge sits at 3.91 feet as of Sunday.
A photo taken Sunday evening at about 6 p.m. of a passing thunderstorm a lightening strike in the area of the old fire tower on Mt. Konocti.
