Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS : COUNTY : Rare Storms Dampen Spirits
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Just to make sure people wouldn’t get too bored with the monotonously marvelous weather that plagues Southern California in the summertime, Mother Nature decided to throw in a little something different.
It this case, it was a series of rare and violent summer thunderstorms that blacked out thousands of homes and was blamed in the death of a Santa Ana man who was killed in a traffic accident.
The storms, with spectacular nighttime lightning displays, were caused by an influx of tropical moisture encouraged by a weak area of low pressure.
Regardless of their cause, the storms caused more than their fair share of problems with lightning-caused power outages--including one that darkened Anaheim Stadium during a California Angels game--and knocked over trees.
An usual twist involved the more than 150 stray animals left in the storms’ wake.
“The animals are scared of noise,” county veterinarian Dr. Nila Kelly said. “It scares them and they jump fences, go through gates, get under fences. They run because they’re trying to get away from the noise.”
And run away they did. The county animal shelter filled all 382 of its kennels and was jammed with more than 100 additional dogs and another 50 stray cats.
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