Rain drives children indoors

Michael Ramirez, 9, sat on the floor of the Boys & Girls Club fastening Legos together to make, as he described them, a big spaceship, a little spaceship and a cannon blaster gun.

But it wasn't the way he wanted to spend his Monday afternoon.

"I'd rather go outside and play tag, but it's raining too hard."

Sunny morning skies continued to darken until rain burst down amid thunder and lightning storms, driving the children inside for the afternoon.

"Out of nowhere, the clouds just got blue, and all of a sudden it started to rain," said Destiny Martinez, 10. "It's weird because it's supposed to be summer, not cold and stuff like that."

State Forester Steve Robinson said lightning started a couple of single-tree fires in the area but they were easily extinguished.

"The moisture is pretty far spread through the whole Sierra range," Robinson said. "Typically, it's the dry lightning storms that we have trouble with."

Lightning struck several power poles in Carson City. Among them, one near the intersection of Winnie Lane and Roop Street around 3 p.m. Power was shut off to 1,776 customers and was restored within two hours.

The storm, which dusted the Sierra Nevada with snow, was expected to continue through the night, but the forecast called for the sun's return this morning.

"Things are going to start warming up again," said meteorologist Dave Pike from the National Weather Service. "We should see sunny days and mostly clear nights as the week progresses."

He said today's high should be in the upper 70s with temperatures reaching the upper 80s by the weekend.

Melinda Fowler, program director for the Boys & Girls Club, said the children adapted well to being inside all afternoon, but it was a tight squeeze.

"It drives home the point that we need to build a new club," she said. "We are at full capacity, wall-to-wall kids."