I'm in southern California, so there must be hail

(((Plus tornadoes, snow and debris slides. Folks, I'm not normally a hail-provoking kind of guy. In over half a century I've never before been pursued by hail.)))

Link: Wild spring storm brings tornadoes, hail, snow, debris slides to Southern California - Los Angeles Times.

Tornadoes in Riverside County derailed a freight train and flipped a big rig. Orange County saw massive mudslides, while L.A. County faced flash-flood warnings and closure of the 10 Freeway.

By David Reyes, My-Thuan Tran and Janet Wilson, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

May 23, 2008

"A tornado flipped a big-rig truck, derailed a freight train and clogged a major interstate for several miles Thursday as a wild spring thunderstorm hopscotched across Southern California dumping hail, rain and snow.

"The most severe damage was reported in Riverside County, where dark, towering funnel clouds spun across the communities east and west of the 215 Freeway corridor. In Orange County, walls of water, mud and debris – some 8 feet high – battered eastern canyons that had burned in last year's wildfires, leaving behind a muddy mess but little major damage and no injuries.

(...) The tornado then headed toward Perris, where it caused power outages and minor damage before dissipating.

"I drove through it and have never seen weather like this," said Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez, spokesman for the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

"A blanket of hail turned neighborhoods white in Baldwin Park and Irwindale, drawing crowds of children into the streets to play with the ice. Snow dusted higher elevations and lightning strikes were reported in Mira Loma and other inland areas as the storm drifted south and west.

"As storm cells jumped from place to place through the day, radio and television broadcasts were interrupted with emergency warnings for communities threatened by flooding and tornadoes. (...)