Tornado touches down near Santa Cruz in Northern California, flipping cars and downing power lines
A tornado struck the Northern California town of Scotts Valley near Santa Cruz on Saturday afternoon, flipping cars and knocking out power lines, authorities said. Fire officials said multiple people were injured.
What the National Weather Service classified as a weak EF1 tornado touched down at the corner of Mount Hermon Drive and Lockewood Lane at 1:39 p.m. one NWS Preliminary Damage Investigation Report Information released Saturday night showed the tornado lasted for five minutes and had wind speeds estimated at about 90 mph.
It reportedly ran more than a quarter mile southeast and was 30 yards wide. Most of the severe damage occurred along Mount Hermon Road.
scotts valley police initially Post an alert on social media Residents are advised to avoid the area after a multi-vehicle accident that left multiple power lines down and completely blocked the road in all directions.
Police later released an update saying that witnesses reported that it was not an accident, “but a possible tornado” that landed near the Target store at 270 Mount Hermon Avenue, “and swept multiple cars away. the way”.
The Scotts Valley Fire Protection District told CBS News four to five people were injured in the weather incident, with injuries ranging from minor to moderate. At least two of them were taken to hospital.
Scotts Valley Police Department
The fire district said about 20 vehicles were believed to be damaged.
Shortly before the tornado, the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the area.
A later post on X by the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office confirmed that a tornado had occurred based on “video, photos, firsthand accounts and radar signatures.”
Scotts Valley is a small town about 6 miles north of Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz County, off State Highway 17.
The tornado was just the latest extreme wind event linked to powerful storms that swept through Northern California overnight. this San Francisco issues first tornado warning The National Weather Service issued the alert at about 6 a.m. Saturday, alerting residents via cell phone alerts that woke many up, according to social media reports.
While no tornadoes have emerged, strong winds are affecting the entire area, including Citywide power outage in Novato, North Bay and Interstate 580 is completely closed A multi-vehicle crash involving a big rig occurred on the border of San Joaquin and Alameda counties due to high winds.
