The National Weather Service says there were more than 7,000 strokes of lightning recorded in and near the Bay Area Monday evening -- and forecasters say another round is possible Tuesday.
The lightning caused several fires, led to delays at San Francisco International Airport and turned the Giants-Dodgers game at AT&T Park into a late night-early morning event.
The spectacular light-and-sound show -- most of the lightning was of the cloud-to-cloud variety -- was the result of a system pumping moist air into the region from the south combining with hot weather that encouraged the formation of thunderstorms, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Charles Bell.
"It was really impressive," Bell said.
Lightning is common in California -- think summer thunderstorms over the Sierra Nevada and other mountain ranges -- but not in the state's urban areas.