Most Thunderstorms in California? (San Diego, Riverside: camp, station, best)

[Fiddlehead]

I know that the West Coast tends to be short on thunderstorms, but I wonder which towns or regions have the most thunderstorms in the state. I tend to view thunderstorms as a part of summer, and I would like to know where one could have a chance to experience a few.

Any suggestions?

[Des-Lab]

Usually the southeastern parts of the State since the Monsoonal moisture comes in from Mexico and/or Sea Of Cortez. So Imperial, El Centro, Blythe, Needles, Palm Springs, Temecula, Riverside, Victorville, San Bernadino. That's where you will typically see them.

[T. Damon]

Also the mountains, central Sierras you can get some pretty good ones, not frequent but pretty powerful nonetheless.

[505HPC6Z06]

Originally Posted by T. Damon

Also the mountains, central Sierras you can get some pretty good ones, not frequent but pretty powerful nonetheless.

+1

Been here over two decades and the serious storms are up in NorCal. Redding area and up gets some pretty intense storms (but not limited to). A few years ago there was a massive lightning event and I saw it driving on I5 near Willows (ThunderHill). It was so awesome, people were pulling off to the emergency lane to get out and look. That spectacular event started an immense amount of fires (90?).

[TheDragonslayer]

Every summer interior of Humboldt county and Del Norte county get hit with massive thunderstorms. Been that way for the past few weeks in inland from the coast about 35 miles.

[Hawk J]

Sometimes there are some pretty good TS around Alturas, CA.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...+Alturas%2C+CA

[Fiddlehead]

I recall seeing some good thunderstorms in the southern Sierra Nevada, Lassen Volcanic, and in far northern California (Siskiyou Co.). I also remember an epic thunderstorm as a kid I the San Joaquin Valley in September. Epic, because it almost never happened.

I was pondering the monsoon influence, which seem to me like it would be best in the eastern deserts or High Sierra, as they are on the western edge of that air mass. That said, central and eastern Oregon and the eastern Klamath Region (Alturas,Klamath Falls,etc.) seem to get them too. I suppose the eastern areas get more of the monsoon, and the northern areas are likely to have frontal storms passing through later (and earlier in the year), when temps are warm enough for thunder.

I did some digging, and the most thunderstorms per year I have seen for any regularly reporting station in California is 13. That is a fourway tie by Redding, Mt. Shasta, Victorville, and Needles, which seems to match with the thoughts of the posters so far. I have to guess places like Tuolumne Meadows or Bodie or Lake Tahoe would be even higher. The same for places like Alturas, Termo, or anywhere in the Warner Mountains, or areas high in the southern mountains, like Mountain Pass or Big Bear Lake, but I don't know where those data would reside.

Climate Tables | Western Regional Climate Center

[caliguy92832]

Originally Posted by Des-Lab

Usually the southeastern parts of the State since the Monsoonal moisture comes in from Mexico and/or Sea Of Cortez. So Imperial, El Centro, Blythe, Needles, Palm Springs, Temecula, Riverside, Victorville, San Bernadino. That's where you will typically see them.

Temecula/Murrieta is getting hit with thunderstorms right now....

National Weather Service Watch Warning Advisory Summary


Flood Advisory

FLOOD ADVISORY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
331 PM PDT TUE JUN 30
SAN DIEGO CA-RIVERSIDE CA

THE FLOOD ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 445 PM PDT FOR NORTH CENTRAL SAN DIEGO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTIES...AT 325 PM PDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT THE HEAVY RAIN DUE TO THUNDERSTORMS HAD WEAKEN AND MOVED TO THE WEST. ADDITIONAL MINOR FLOODING WILL CONTINUE IN THE ADVISORY AREA DUE TO RUNOFF. SOME LOCATIONS THAT MAY EXPERIENCE MINOR FLOODING INCLUDE TEMECULA...FALLBROOK...VALLEY CENTER...EASTERN CAMP PENDLETON...MURRIETA...RAINBOW...PAUMA VALLEY AND SAGE.

[DMenscha]

Yosemite. I can see the buildups from here.

[Hawk J]

We used to camp & fish on the California Aqueduct & Delta/Mendota canal, San Luis O'Neill Forebay. Off in the distance toward Modesto area, we could see Heat (red) Lightning storms. We would sit there & watch the show...