Blizzard-producing storm system spawns tornado in Central California
According to data from NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, California sees around nine tornadoes a year, which has been on an uptick when compared to previous decades.
Caught on video: California tornado
A blizzard-producing storm system spawned at least one tornado in Central California on Friday.
MADERA, Calif. – A tornado was likely not on anyone’s bingo card for a winter storm system to produce on Friday, but that is exactly what residents saw in the sky over the San Joaquin Valley.
Forecasters were busy tracking a storm system that produced blizzard conditions in the Sierra Nevada with the potential for feet of snow and wind gusts to hurricane strength.
During a slug of moisture that was inbound to the mountain range, enough shear was present for rotation, which caused a funnel cloud to form.
Due to the depiction of rotation on doppler radar and reports from weather spotters, the National Weather Service office in Hanford, California, issued a series of Tornado Warnings for Madera, Mariposa and Merced counties in the central part of the state.
Tornado Warning issued for counties in Central California.
(FOX Weather)
NWS meteorologists warned those in the storm’s path to take cover and move to a basement on the lowest floor of a sturdy building.
Despite the alerts, residents from all over the San Joaquin Valley took photos and videos of the funnel and the subsequent tornado as it worked northbound through properties that were used for both residential and agricultural purposes.
Local authorities did not report any injuries associated with the event, and it was thought the twister was only briefly on the ground.
VIDEO: STRONGEST LOS ANGELES TORNADO IN 40 YEARS DAMAGES SEVERAL BUILDINGS, INJURES 1
Tornado Warning issued for counties in Central California.
(FOX Weather)
Tornadoes in the Golden State are less rare than one would think.
According to data from NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, California sees around ten tornadoes a year, which has been on an uptick when compared to previous decades.
So far in 2024, the Madera tornado was the fourth reported twister, with other events occurring in the San Luis Obispo region during February during an atmospheric river event.
The NWS office that covers the Madera region said it plans to survey the region on Saturday to determine how widespread the damage was and the strength of the tornado on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
Late on Friday evening, meteorologists received a report of damage to a local elementary school in Madera County.
Madera is located in the San Joaquin Valley and is bordered by the Sierra Nevada mountain range to the east.
The number in each state denotes its average number of tornadoes each year based on the period from 1989-2019. Data: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database.
(FOX Weather)