Palos Verdes: Lightning Possible At LA Beaches This Weekend

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA — The National Weather Service issued a warning for SoCal beachgoers this weekend: Watch out for possible thunder or lightning at the beach.

Lightning can strike from miles away, and it's important to take shelter if you hear or see it, according to the agency. Leave the area, evacuate if lifeguards ask you to and shelter in a car or indoors—not outdoors or in an uncovered location. Gazebos are not safe, according to NWS.

Here are is the forecast for Rancho Palos Verdes:

• Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11 p.m. Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. West wind around 5 mph becoming south southeast after midnight.
• Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11 a.m. Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Southeast wind 5 to 15 mph becoming south southwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
• Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south southeast in the evening.
• Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11 a.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 77. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Sunday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 68. West southwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Lightning kills 20 or more people in the U.S. each year, and hundreds more are severely injured, according to the National Weather Service.

Lightning along the coast caused officials to evacuate Los Angeles County beaches for safety precautions last summer.

A lightning strike in 2014 at Venice Beach left a 20-year-old man dead and injured eight others.

There is a possibility of beach lightning over the weekend for #SoCal beaches. Seek shelter if you hear thunder or see lightning - do not wait until it's close! Remember, beach gazebos are not a safe place to shelter! #CAwx #LAweather pic.twitter.com/mpck0bWUtr
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) August 22, 2020

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