A tornado came down in coastal Santa Cruz County, northern California, injuring many persons and requiring hospitalization.
A rare tornado struck the tiny community of Scotts Valley, approximately 70 miles from San Francisco, about 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 14, according to reports from local Monterey station KION-TV, the Associated Press, and CBS Bay Area.
According to KION-TV, the National Weather Service (NWS) rated the tornado as an EF1, which is a lesser category. When the tornado struck outside of a Target, power wires were thrown down and automobiles were overturned, according to Scotts Valley police on Facebook.
According to a NWS preliminary damage assessment report released on X (previously Twitter) on Saturday, the tornado lasted approximately five minutes and traveled roughly a quarter mile southeast. It was around 30 yards wide, with speeds expected to reach 90 mph, according to the EPA.
The Scotts Valley Police Department tweeted photos showing at least three automobiles on their hoods or sides with cracked windshields, while tree limbs and electrical cables littered the ground.
“A wide range of damage was observed, including downed trees, power poles and trees stripped of branches,” according to the National Weather Service.
Police also said that the town’s electric supplier, PG&E, worked overnight to restore electricity, and previously blocked roadways have since reopened.
The Scotts Valley Fire Protection District informed CBS News that the tornado wounded four to five persons, all of whom had mild or moderate injuries. According to the fire district, two of these victims were hospitalized.
According to the Associated Press, one person was hurt, including a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection battalion chief who was on duty. Cal Fire informed CBS that his truck had rolled over, but he is expected to survive.
Northern California has had a variety of severe weather occurrences this weekend, all tied to the big storm that blew over the area on Friday night.
According to CBS, the National Weather Service issued its first tornado warning in San Francisco around 6 a.m. on Saturday, but no tornado appeared.
numerous smaller communities in the vicinity, including Novato, had power outages, and I-580 was halted between San Joaquin and Alameda counties after a big rig truck collided with numerous other cars, according to CBS.
According to the Associated Press, the NWS said that San Francisco has not experienced a tornado since 2005.
“This was the first warning of a probable tornado in San Francisco. “I would guess there wasn’t a clear signature on radar for a warning in 2005,” Roger Gass, a Weather Service meteorologist in Monterey, told the Associated Press.
Meteorologist Dalton Behringer also urged that San Francisco and Bay region people seek as much shelter as possible in the case of a tornado, despite the fact that many houses in the region lack basements.
“The biggest thing that we tell people in the city is to put as many walls between you and the outside as possible,” Behringer told the news organization AP.
