Storm shows up late

Visitors, from left, Justine Guyton and Meade Scrimsher of St. Louis and Cindy Guyton of Medford get a little too close to the action on Preston Island off Pebble Beach Drive on Wednesday. After getting soaked, they kept their distance. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

The main part of the storm that originated in the Pacific Ocean swept in early Tuesday, but the show didn’t really start in Del Norte until Tuesday night at around 10–11 p.m.

“A thunderstorm rolled through and picked up the wind and really heavy rain,” said Jeff Tonkin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Eureka.

At about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, 8,300 customers in the region lost power, said Monte Mendenhall, a regional community manager for Pacific Power.

Power was restored to most people “in bits and pieces” later in the morning, he said.

A huge rock is nearly engulfed by the surf on Preston Island. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

The thunderstorm was a belated gift from the powerful fall storm that bombarded much of the coast south of Del Norte on Tuesday. It was not in the forecast, Tonkin said, but thunderstorms are hard to predict.

“It’s all one storm,” Tonkin said. “The initial front came in Tuesday morning, but the actual storm system stayed over the area.”

The wind reached 46 mph at 11 p.m and 1.5 inches of rain was recorded at Del Norte County Airport and in Fort Dick from Monday to Wednesday morning, Tonkin said.

After the storm had passed, roiling waves continued to put on a show on Del Norte beaches Wednesday.

The weather should be drier today and Friday, Tonkin said, with “much less showers and some sunshine.”

There’s a chance of rain for Saturday, and there could be another storm heading toward the North Coast next Wednesday, he added.