Thunderstorm Sweeps Through Chatsworth

Shorty after 5 p.m., Tuesday, the weather got serious.

Chatsworth skies opened up, and to the accompaniment of lightning and thunder, rain came down in torrents, filling intersections and limiting visibility to just a few feet.  The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory throughout the surrounding region which expired 15 minutes later.

''Just about any area that had a thunderstorm had much higher precipitation amounts,'' meteorologist Jamie Meier said.

However, for the 24-hour period ending 10 p.m. Tuesday, only 0.32-inches of rain was recorded at the Chatsworth Reservoir.

As the storm moved east, the Weather Service warned the system could produce quarter-sized hail and winds in excess of 60 mph.

The storm, a cut-off low, is the second one to soak Southern California in October -- a rarity in itself.

Spotty power outages were reported throughout the region. In Malibu, Westlake Village and parts of Simi Valley, some 97,000 SCE Edison customers lost electricity for a short period.

The forecast for tonight is mostly cloudy with scattered showers and a slight chance of additional thunderstorms.  The lows will be in the mid 50s to lower 60s.  Wednesday will be mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and a possibility of morning thundershowers, afternoon drizzle and highs in the upper 60s.

Forecasters expect the storm to linger over the region for another day or so before moving east. Thursday should be dry and partly cloudy.

The City News Service contributed to this story.