A tornado touched down in the northern California town of Scotts Valley near Santa Cruz on Saturday afternoon, overturning cars and downing power lines, authorities said.
Scotts Valley is a small town about six miles north of Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz County, just off State Highway 17.
The incident happened around 1:40 pm around the 200 block of Mount Hermon Drive. Scotts Valley Police initially posted an alert on social media advising residents to avoid the area after a multi-vehicle crash that had multiple downed power lines and completely blocked the road in all directions.
Police later released an update saying witnesses reported it was not an accident “but rather a possible tornado” that touched down near the Target store at 270 Mount Hermon Drive “and threw several cars out of the road”.
Police did not provide any specific details about the injuries.
The National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the area shortly before the tornado hit.
A post-X release from the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office confirmed that a tornado had occurred based on “videos, photos, firsthand accounts and radar signatures.”
The post noted that an NWS survey team will further investigate the incident to provide a classification.
The tornado was just the latest extreme wind event linked to the powerful storm that swept through Northern California overnight. The first tornado warning in San Francisco was issued by the National Weather Service Saturday morning just before 6 a.m., alarming residents with a cellphone alert that woke many people up, according to reports on social media.
Although this tornado did not materialize, strong winds were causing impacts throughout the region, including a citywide power outage in the city of Novato, North Bay i a full shutdown of Interstate 580 in both directions at the San Joaquín and Alameda county line after a multi-vehicle crash with a big rig due to high winds.