'Hail barrage' in East Bay, scattered showers, thunderstorms ahead

ALAMEDA, Calif. - Matt Scully woke up Monday morning to a "sustained hail barrage" in Alameda that woke him up.

He ran outside, like many others, to snap the unusual but not unprecedented sight in the Bay Area - a spring storm bringing rain and hail to the normally sunny streets of California.

It was so unusual, that a young boy hopped on a makeshift cardboard sled and slid down Patterson Avenue in Oakland - a scene caught on camera by neighbor Michael Bazeley. And nearby, at Joaquin Miller and Redwood roads, Abigail and Lauren Le hopped on plastic sleds to slide down their hail-covered driveway, squealing in delight before school, their mother said. %INLINE%

People built hail-mans that looked like Olaf from "Frozen" and got into car accidents as the strange precipitation flummoxed many on the road. Police were out in force directing traffic through many neighborhoods because of the out-of-the-ordinary weather.

The  hail made it so slippery, that the start of Skyline High School in Oakland was delayed for two hours as many motorists - including the drivers of AC Transit buses - found it hard to navigate up the hilly road to school.

"I think there's a lot of kids who tried coming here and who just ended up going home," said Kareem, a senior.

Kenny Day, who was busy shoveling ice for the city of Oakland, said he's "never seen anything like this" in 30 years.

KTVU meterologist Steve Paulson said Monday will be full of these inclement surprises that will also include scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms.

National Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Walbrun said that the cooler temperatures on Monday are slightly below normal, but the fact that it's raining and hailing in spring? "Remember, five, six, seven years ago (before the drought), Little League games would often get rained out," he said. "It is supposed to rain in the spring."

As for graupel, "today would be the day for it," Walbrun said.

Monday's storm will be the strongest, he said, followed by another weather event on Wednesday. Skies should clear up by Thursday and Friday, he said.