Mayor Frank Picozzi found it hard to believe his wife, Kim, was reporting heavy rain, hail and high winds on Monday afternoon around 3:30 p.m.

His first question was, “Where are you?” When she said she was at home, usually a 15-minute drive from Apponaug, he was incredulous.  Skies were bright and it wasn’t raining at City Hall.

“It was very localized,” Picozzi said of the storm, which he compared to the microburst that hit the city on Aug. 8, 2015, bringing down trees and power lines in select neighborhoods with Governor Francis Farms being especially hard hit.

Indeed, as the app Rain Drop reported, no rainfall was recorded in Apponaug on Monday, although a short distance away the app gave Buttonwoods .94 inches of rain and close by City Park 1.22 inches within the 24 hour period. The totals climbed farther east and north. Oakland Beach had a total of 3.13 inches; Hoxsie Four Corners 3.06 inches, West Shore Road near the Picozzi home 3.98 inches and the granddaddy for Warwick, Conimicut Point Park, with 4.22 inches.

Picozzi said he encountered the hail and rain as he drove home.  He said Archdale Avenue, a couple of blocks from his house, “was a lake” that he estimated was 4 feet deep. When he reached home he found his above ground pool overflowing, downed leaves scattered across the yard and a wet basement. On his way home, Picozzi stopped to clear several storm drains that were blocked with debris. He said the water receded “like flushing a toilet.” At home he changed into work clothes and returned to help city crews unplug drains.

There was a pond in front of Dave’s Fresh Marketplace at Hoxsie Four Corners and West Shore Road that had become a channel. Assistant Superintendent of Schools William McCaffrey reported that Cole Station firetrucks were parked across the road to caution motorists from going farther.

That didn’t stop people, however.

Motorists sought the high ground, driving in the oncoming traffic lane if necessary. Even then they were plowing through 2 feet or more of water as the rain and hail pounded. The hail stopped first and then the rain eased. By 4:30 p.m. skies were brightening. It was over by 5 p.m.

Picozzi knew of one downed tree on private property. The tree brought knocked out power to the house, but that was the single power outage he was aware of.

“The moral to this story,” Picozzi said, “is if you have a drain near your house, make sure it is unclogged.”