SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. – A rare tornado in Northern California on Saturday caused quite a bit of damage as the spiraling vortex flipped cars, damaged homes and businesses and left thousands without power.
Photos and videos from Santa Cruz County showed the town of Scotts Valley was the hardest hit, with Christmas shoppers taking cover as the severe weather moved through the region.
In one video, a woman could be heard yelling, “Let’s go home, let’s go home,” as debris pelted the couple’s car on one of the main thoroughfares around 1:30 p.m. local time.
Local officials said several people were injured and damage was reported to be significant from the brief tornado, which was determined to be an EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with winds of 90 mph.
SAN FRANCISCO HAS FIRST-EVER TORNADO WARNING AS ATMOSPHERIC RIVER SLAMS CALIFORNIA
The Scotts Valley Police Department said some local roads remained closed throughout the evening and were expected to remain closed until at least Sunday morning.
That, police said, was to allow the repairs of damaged powerlines and other equipment and to allow for crews to clear debris and other hazards from the roadway and surrounding areas.
Several hours earlier, San Francisco was put under its first-ever Tornado Warning as a powerful storm system slammed the state.
National Weather Service survey crews investigated damage left behind by the powerful storm and estimated that straight line winds of around 80 mph were responsible for the damage.
During the height of the severe weather, PowerOutage.us reported more than 128,000 electric outages in the Golden State, with most located south of the Bay Area and in the Sierra Nevada.
HOW RARE ARE TORNADOES IN CALIFORNIA?
According to a NOAA database, tornadoes are a rarity in large sections of the western U.S.
Since 1950, there have been less than 500 reported tornadoes in California, which have led to injuries but no fatalities.
According to the NWS office in Sacramento, on average, 11 occur every year and are most common during the spring and fall.
The atmospheric river event that caused the recent round of severe weather is expected to subside on Sunday before another round of heavy rainfall approaches the coast on Monday and Tuesday.
