WPBN: Tornado alley it is not, yet a portion of California was slammed on Saturday by a rare tornado that has been accused for hurting five people and flipping automobiles as a storm raced over the state. The tornado was blamed for the incident.
A tornado that struck Scotts Valley, a small city located approximately 6 miles north of Santa Cruz, “threw multiple cars off the road,” according to the city police department, which issued a statement on Facebook and shared pictures of vehicles that had flipped over.
Five people, the most of whom were in automobiles that were thrown or pushed by the tornado, experienced injuries, none of which were considered to be serious, according to Police Captain Scott Garner. “Two of them refused treatment at the scene,” he said, while three were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not considered to be life-threatening.
An EF1 tornado made landfall in Scotts Valley at 1:39 p.m. local time, according to a damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service. The tornado was estimated to have reached a peak wind speed of 90 miles per hour.
šPreliminary Damage Survey Conducted. EF1 tornado observed in Scotts Valley this afternoon, December 14, 2024. The most severe damage was observed along Mt Hermon Rd. Full info: https://t.co/RQIwRzlVFk #cawx #scottsvalley pic.twitter.com/gs48BsaVrr
ā NWS Bay Area š (@NWSBayArea) December 15, 2024
Approximately thirty yards was the distance that the tornado traveled, and the survey discovered that Mount Hermon Road, which is the city’s main roadway and shopping sector, had the most serious damage.
Several photographs were distributed by the Scotts Valley Police Department, which depicted vehicles strewn about on and around the roadway.
It was reported that there was a collision involving multiple vehicles, but when officers arrived, they were surprised to find the aftermath of a tornado instead. According to Garner, the tornado caused power poles to bend and caused considerable damage to property.
According to the weather service, tornadoes are most likely to occur in the northern Central Valley, with an average of only 11 occurring in California annually.
Just before six in the morning on Saturday, the weather service had issued a tornado warning for San Francisco; however, it was canceled because there was no tornado organized in the region.
According to Bay Area weather service meteorologist Nicole Sarment, the warning was the first for San Francisco and San Francisco County at least since accurate meteorological records began to be kept in 1950.
In a series of Facebook posts, police in Scotts Valley stated that the Mount Hermon Road area will likely stay closed until Sunday morning at the latest while officials evaluate the damage and Pacific Gas & Electric fixes infrastructure and restores power.
We’ve received questions about tornadoes and CA. How common are they? Here’s a nice graphic our colleagues at @NWSSacramento created. Tornadoes in CA are actually not that uncommon. On average ~11 per year. #cawx pic.twitter.com/bSTzbVxk0N
ā NWS Bay Area š (@NWSBayArea) December 14, 2024
According to utility tracker PowerOutage.us, about 8,800 Santa Cruz County utility customers were without power on Saturday night.
According to a statement from forecasters with the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, the tornado developed during a strong Pacific storm that assisted in moving an atmospheric river across the northern part of the state, with a “cold frontal rain band” following in its wake on Saturday.
Floodwaters stranded multiple automobiles in Mill Valley, a tiny city located approximately 14 miles north of San Francisco, according to police. The city of Novato, which is roughly 28 miles north of San Francisco, reported on X that there was a citywide power outage due to storm-damaged power lines and utility poles. Residents were advised to remain at home.
On a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is the strongest, the center assigned the atmospheric river an AR2 to AR3 rating, meaning moderate to strong.
“A rather potent frontal passage” was cited by the Monterey weather service office as the cause of the unsteady weather linked to the atmospheric river’s tail end, which featured snow inland, hail, ripping winds, and almost two inches of rain in parts.
The Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes regions of California might receive up to 20 inches of snow between Friday and Saturday, according to the Reno, Nevada, weather service office.
In its forecast discussion on Saturday, the weather service predicted that the Bay Area would see “sunny skies” on Sunday after a night of frigid temperatures that will bottom out close to 30 degrees.
