"It caused a bit of surprise particularly because my dog is really sensitive to thunder, and last night, the thunder was the big problem," said Roxy Root, a San Clemente resident. "He was barking all night long, I hardly got any sleep."
People and even animals donned rain coats to shield themselves from getting soaked. Drivers had to take more precaution as water started to build up on roads.
/*Southern California Edison*/ reported some 13,000 customers lost power in Seal Beach, Sunset Beach and Huntington Beach after a substation was struck by lightning.
Some affected said it happened early and lasted only a short while.
Other residents said they didn't mind the rain.
"I sort of enjoy it, to be honest, because we don't get it that much here, so it's sort of relaxing, but you don't want it for too long," said Root.
In La Canada Flintridge, the skies were threatening rain.
Ocean View Boulevard was littered with sandbags, but crews didn't need them. There was hardly any reason to get an umbrella out.
However, residents devastated by last year's Station Fire are keeping a close eye on the sky. Heavy downpours could cause mud slides in the areas stripped of vegetation
Up north in Palmdale, scattered showers, lightning and thunder storms caught residents by surprise. In neighboring Lancaster, heavy downpours flooded streets, making the commute difficult and slow.
"Last Saturday, it was about 100 degrees or 98 degrees and all of a sudden, it's like this. It's thunder and lightning and my dogs are going crazy," said Palmdale resident Joyce Larsen.
South of /*Lancaster*/, Santa Clarita avoided morning showers, but the winds picked up, the fog rolled in, and temperatures dropped.
San Pedro was shrouded in steady rain, but that quickly turned into an intense downpour and strong wind through the afternoon.
"We never really get thunder, so it's fun," said David Vigueras Jr. of San Pedro. "I love this weather."
In Pasadena, heavy showers soaked roads in Old Town as early as 12:30 a.m. with similar heavy downpours in Bellflower to the south.
The slick conditions may have been the cause of a crash in Encino just past midnight when the driver of a Mustang lost control and crashed into at least one other car on the eastbound 101 Freeway west of Balboa Boulevard. Injury reports were not immediately available.
The Inland Empire felt the storm as well, with Ontario getting hit with heavy showers and lightning storms hitting Temecula.
The rain moved in and out of Riverside, creating a mess on the road. Low visibility and heavy rain made roads dangerous for drivers.
A garbage truck spun out of control on the 91 freeway in downtown Riverside, blocking all but one westbound lane.
It jammed traffic for hours.
In Crestline, dense fog and drizzle created slick roadways around those communities.
The weather also brought with it chilly temperatures, but not enough to make it cold enough for the snow.
