SoCal Hit With Heavy Rain, Thunderstorms Just Ahead Of Memorial Day Weekend

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Southern California's skies should be a little quieter Thursday after a wild Wednesday of short, heavy rainfall, hail, thunder and lightning just days before Memorial Day and the unofficial start to summer.

The skies opened up over the region Wednesday afternoon, catching people off guard from the San Fernando Valley to the Inland Empire.

Lightning strikes shut down beaches from Dockweiler to Malibu just after 2:30 p.m. Nearly an inch of rain fell within an hour at the Bel Air Hotel, according to the National Weather Forecast.

In Pomona, there was a lot of thunder, lightning and hail, while Chino say sudden downpours that flooded streets and swamped a stretch of the 60 Freeway, prompting the California Highway Patrol to shut down some lanes near the Ramona exit.

"But it was wild! It looked like the hood of my car was going to get pushed up by the water. It was like a full-on river," driver Alana Powers said.

In Anaheim, power went out briefly at Disneyland's California Adventure, stopping all the rides for a time.

Big Bear Lake got a fresh dusting of snow, which made for a beautiful but cold scene for the bald eagle parent trying to keep their recently hatched eaglets warm.

Palm Springs set a record for the "lowest maximum temperature" of 75 degrees, replacing the previous record of 80 degrees set in 2015.

Skies will remain cloudy over most of Southern California Thursday, with some rain expected to fall on the mountain and desert communities.