Thunderstorms, or lightning in general, are very rare in Davis. When they do occur it is either in the winter or as a freak storm in the summer. Thunderstorms here are very mild compared to most parts of the country. A big storm in Davis is a few claps of thunder that everyone talks about the next day.
To put this into perspective for the Native Californians, thunderstorms can last for hours with several claps of thunder a minute, and sheeting rain. Bolt lightning (straight to ground) can be the norm rather than the more common in Davis cloud to cloud lightning. This severity of storm is rarely seen in California except perhaps in the mountains.
For people who've adopted Davis, the pleasant weather is nice... and can also be one of the things that out of state students and people who grew up elsewhere miss the most. Well, that and four easily defined seasons.
