Thunder, Lightning Herald Arrival Of Weekend Of Storms In Sacramento

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The stage was set for this weekend's storm to roll through on Friday morning in the form of a thunderstorm that rolled through, announcing its arrival.

Lightning strikes resulted in power outages and a lot of inconvenience as they lit up the sky.

"There was a nice little cluster of about 14 lightning strikes just south of Sacramento," said Brooke Bingaman with the National Weather Service.

The lightning was to blame for a number of power outages, leaving more than 1,000 people without power at different times on Friday. The DMV in Sacramento was also without power for a time this morning.

But it wasn't just homes and businesses inconvenienced.

"I've seen lightning all day since 7 this morning. It's pretty loud out here, said light rail passenger Andrew Alfaro.

He was one of many passengers left waiting after a strike interrupted power to part of the light rail blue line.

"We're all cold and shivering here in the rain here so hopefully they get us soon and out of here and on our way," he said.

Friday's storm brought a mixture of instability in the atmosphere and moisture comes with a reminder: Lightning can be beautiful, but it can also be deadly. Stay away from metal, get in a car and better yet.

"One of the sayings we like to share with people from the National Weather Service is 'If thunder roars, go indoors.' Because whenever we have thunder about you don't want to be out in the open," Bingaman said.