Thousands of lightning strikes sparked across the Bay Area and Central Coast Wednesday and Thursday as a low pressure system passed through, bringing with it a spattering of rain and a cooldown that is set to end as Friday and Saturday’s temperatures heat up again.

Over a 24-hour period from Wednesday to Thursday morning, approximately 5,000 lightning strikes touched down across the regions, said National Weather Service Meteorologist Nicole Sarment. No further lightning was expected in the Bay Area Thursday afternoon or evening.

A map of lightning strikes from the National Weather Service shared Thursday morning showed large amounts of lightning clustered in Contra Costa and Alameda counties over the previous two days. Strikes were recorded across the entirety of Contra Costa, with the

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