Wild Weather, Downed Trees, Dangerous Rip Currents Continue Around SoCal

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Southland weather was a little bit of you name it Thursday -- soaring temperatures with a chance for storms, flooding, wild winds, huge hail, lightning and thunderstorms abounded.

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According to the National Weather Service, a significant amount of monsoonal moisture created showers and thunderstorms throughout the day.

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The storm began in Los Angeles County Thursday morning and then spread into Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

A flood watch was issued at 6 a.m. for the Colby Fire Burn Area in Azusa.

On Wednesday, wild weather impacted several areas within the Southland.

Residents in Lake Los Angeles experienced heavy downpours and flooding within roadways throughout the day on Wednesday. There was a lot more of the same on Thursday.

Meanwhile, residents in the High Desert was hit with a ton of rain, wind and lightning. Hail was so powerful many motorists stopped under an underpass in Acton until the storm passed.

"You needed a kayak," said one motorist, "you needed a paddle or something."

Mike Taddeo has lived in Acton for 33 years. He was working on a windmill when he saw the dark clouds moving in.

Then lighting come toward him.

"It's weird this time of year. I [saw] it coming down here and it's the worst it's been in a long time," Taddeo said.

Along the coast, relatively high temperatures were expected to get large crowds to beaches.

Extra lifeguards were put on duty in preparation for continuing dangerous rip currents along the shore.

On Wednesday, lifeguards rescued about 250 swimmers from the beaches within Los Angeles County. More than 400 people were rescued on Tuesday.

On Thursday, wild winds whipped around the high desert. At a RV park in Redlands, some toppled eucalyptus trees crushed vehicles.

"I'm just glad we survived it," camper Clifton Hicks told KCAL9's Crystal Cruz, "if we had been in that spot, where we planned to be, the trees would have killed us both."

Billy Banks, the manager of Fisherman's Retreat told Cruz it was a miracle no one was killed.

"Very much a miracle," Banks  said, "That was our biggest concern after everything was said and done. We went trailer to trailer to trailer -- all the people in the resort -- to make sure everybody was safe."

Also in Redlands, many roads were closed because of mud and debris.

Clean-up crews said it would 2-3 days to clear out all the mud and muck.