A ‘rare’ tornado has hit parts of Northern California, injuring citizens and damaging properties. Five people were reported injured as a result. The National Weather Service damage survey confirmed that an EF1 tornado touched down in Scotts Valley with an estimated peak wind of 90 mph. Most damage was inflicted on Mount Hermon Road, which happens to be the city’s most important street.
The agency reported that the twister was about 30 yards wide and traveled only a quarter of a mile before retreating.
1. Pictures of cars dispersed.
Pictures were received from the Scotts Valley Police Department showing cars dispersed throughout the streets, causing further disruption to commutes. Due to worsening weather, there were several reports of multivehicle collisions.
Police Capt. Scott Garner reported about five people in the vehicles tossed around by the tornado. Three of them were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. The remaining two refused treatment at that moment. However, the injuries were not serious.
2. Bent utility poles.
Given the tornado’s strength, the authorities reported that utility poles were in a terrible state. One official talked about officers stumbling onto bent telephone poles.
3. Damage to buildings and powerlines.
Due to falling trees and vehicle flips, considerable damage was reported to both public and private properties. The authorities are busy restoring things back to normal as soon as possible.
The Monterey peninsula has been seriously affected by the falling powerlines. The situation has become more dangerous and difficult due to power outages.
4. Electricity shortage reported.
Santa Cruz County had 8,800 utility customers without power, having to spend these difficult times in complete darkness. In Scotts Valley, the area around Mount Hermon Road was sealed off for authorities to hasten the electricity restoration process, and Pacific Gas & Electric was working on damaged infrastructure.
5. Monterey County was seriously affected by the tornado.
As of Sunday, more than 40,000 citizens living along the California coast complained about no power. According to the PowerOutage website, Monterey County was the worst affected. From commercial roads to residential ones, commutes have been disrupted due to fallen trees. Cal Fire commented that the dispersed tree situation was worsened by trees collecting too much water during the heavy downpour followed by strong gusts of winds.
6. Emergency crews are busy.
Given the scale of destruction and the large number of citizens affected, the emergency teams are working swiftly to avoid any more casualties. Numerous warnings have been issued for drivers to control their vehicles carefully. According to the CHP, drivers should be extra aware of the crews working to clear up debris on or near roadways.
7. An owner recorded his vehicle being flipped.
Myrl Wallace, an affected citizen, submitted a Dash Cam video of his truck being overturned. The footage showcased Saturday’s tornado forming in the parking lot of the Mt. Hermon shopping center. The winds picked up speed slowly but eventually managed to ram the truck into another vehicle in just two minutes. Thankfully, there were no casualties reported.
8. Scotts Valley is in recovery from the tornado.
The city work crews have been diligently working in the region. They have repaired or replaced approximately 15 traffic signals that were damaged or destroyed by the rare tornado in Northern California. There have also been cleanup efforts.
Scotts Valley is a small town with a population of about 11,000 citizens. Hence, work is being done quickly to provide people with normalcy as soon as possible.
The tornado warnings were issued to the residents of San Francisco, however, Scotts Valley was not alerted. This was mainly because the officials believed the region wasn’t in danger. But things went out of control. This has taught the authorities to be prepared in all cases, even if the chances of a tornado in a ‘mountainous community’ are low.
That was all about the rare tornado that hit Northern California and caused substantial damage. Stay tuned for more tornado-related news!
