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Hail Pounds San Francisco, Ice Shuts Down Highway 1; More Thunderstorms On The Way

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- At least twelve separate storms cells moved across the Peninsula Tuesday morning, drenching isolated areas with rain, and pounding commuters with hail, with conditions so bad Highway 1 was shut down south of Half Moon Bay because of hail and ice.

Black ice and hail was reported as the California Highway Patrol responded to the area of Highway 1 and State Route 84 near San Gregorio for a car that went off into a ditch. The roadway opened up an hour later, but not before snarling traffic.

A few minutes later, a hailstorm opened up over downtown San Francisco near 24th and Mission, moving across the city, bringing heavy rain and pounding pedestrians and cars with pea-sized or "granola-like" hail. It melted as soon as it hit the warmer sidewalks.

"It's an extremely dicey day when we need to keep all eyes on the skies," said KPIX 5 meteorologist Roberta Gonzales. Another major storm front is just off the coast near Pacifica.

"We'll continue to see isolated thunderstorms, and some of these thunderstorms have torrential downpours associated with them," Gonzales said. "This could be the most active weather day we've seen in a while."

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