Intense summer storms generated a wild light show over the Valley late Wednesday and early Thursday, July 2 and 3.

“It was pretty intense,” said Snoqualmie resident Ben Meisel. “I’ve lived in the Northwest all my life. That was one of the crazier ones.”

Meisel watched and photographed close strikes near his Snoqualmie Ridge home. The lightning storm, which came in waves during the night, had dogs barking and babies crying in his neighborhood. Nearby shocks even set off his smoke alarm twice, ringing for about 10 seconds each time.

“I don’t know how that happened,” Meisel said.

Seattle-based National Weather Service forecaster Dennis Damico tallied 361 lightning strikes over the greater Eastside that night and into the morning.

“This is a lot more activity than we usually see for this area,” he said. The noisy thunder storms were caused by a low-pressure system in the Pacific drifting into the area.

“There’s a lot of instability in the air,” Damico said.

There were no reports of injuries from the storm, which also brought hail in places.

Only five people in Washington state have been killed by lightning since 1950.