California Tornado

[sblake01]

This is right down the hill about 20 miles from where I live. Maybe normal in the midwest/east but somewhat strange here.

At least two funnel clouds were spotted in Riverside County on Thursday evening, with one apparently touching down near Moreno Valley. Shortly before 5 p.m., a funnel cloud touched down near March Air Reserve Base; the storm then moved toward the Lake Elsinore area. Moreno Valley resident Michael Ritter took the photo to the right, and the others below, from his back yard. At 5:39 p.m. Thursday, trained weather spotters reported a funnel cloud over Interstate 15 near Lake Elsinore and moving west at 8 mph. The Moreno Valley twisters are believed to have tipped over a big rig on the northbound Interstate 215 in Perris and derailed a number of boxcars from railroad tracks on the other side of the freeway. The Jaws of Life had to be used to extricate the injured truck driver. A flash-flood warning was extended until 7:45 p.m. for Riverside and San Bernardino counties. At 6:12 p.m., the National Weather Service reported up to 2 feet of water on Grand Terrace roadways.

Photos courtesy of Moreno Valley resident Michael Ritter

[Unkle]

That's crazy ! What's going on with our weather ??? Even up in Victoria B.C. Canada , late May is normally 18-22 celcius , lows to 10 , and we're still getting frost ! Slow pitch sucks at 6 degrees 7-9 PM with wind and rain , yet they predict warm + sunny . What's up ????

[Mike]

Oregon had some pretty hot weather last weekend ~96-100f. This week it's back down to 50-60's. Shorts last week, now I'm back in pants and a small jacket!

It's interesting to see a tornado in CA. Those are some great photos. Must have been a neat experience taking them....

[sblake01]

We were actually over 100 last week and the weekend. Now it's cold and rainy. As far as taking those pictures goes, I really wouldn't want to be that close to it!

[Pop's Z]

Speaking of tornados, the town of Windsor, Colorado which is 8 miles east of Fort Collins was hit by a 1 mile wide tornado which destroyed part of the town. It missed us by just a bit...it pulled back up into it's cloud and went on to hit Laramie, Wyoming. It left a 35 mile path of destruction. Scary!

Mike

[e_racer1999]

wow. and to think, people still believe that we have no effect on our environment

[jmortensen]

wow. and to think, people still believe that we have no effect on our environment

Yeah, that's probably the first tornado in CA history, huh? Well, maybe not...

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/watorhty.htm

Q: How common are tornadoes in California? When they hit, people always say how unusual they are, but is that really the case?

A: Tornadoes are not as rare in the Golden State as most people seem to think. From 1950-2004, there were 303 documented tornadoes in California, and, since 1993, an additional 57 waterspouts in the state’s coastal waters — an average of almost six tornadoes and five waterspouts per year. But so far in 2005, California is more like Tornado Alley, with about 20 tornadoes in the state, including 12 in Sacramento County — more than in the Oklahoma City metro area!

Though 80% of California tornadoes are weak, with Fujita scale rankings of F-0 or F-1, there have been a number of significant storms in populated areas. With 41 tornadoes, Los Angeles County ranks as the tornado capital of the state, five of which were ranked as F-2. Nearby Orange County has had 28 tornadoes and at least as many waterspouts concentrated in its relatively small area of 798 square miles.

In a recent study, veteran California tornado expert John Monteverdi of San Francisco State University estimates that approximately half of the state’s tornadoes are spawned by supercells. The remainder are the result of smaller circulations, including a number of “cold air funnels.”

California has had two unique tornado events in the past decade. In 1998, an F-2 tornado in Sunnyvale was the first anticyclonic supercell and anticyclonic tornado to be documented with the WSR-88D NEXRAD radar. And in July 2004, the highest-elevation tornado ever observed in the USA. was photographed along Rockwell Pass in the Sequoia National Park, at an elevation of about 12,000 feet.

(Answered by Jan Null, Golden Gate Weather Services, May 18, 2005)

[moonpup]

wow. and to think, people still believe that we have no effect on our environment

Naw...just God's rath on California for passing that Gay marriage law!

[sblake01]

Yeah, that's probably the first tornado in CA history, huh? Well, maybe not...

I don't recall anyone saying that.

[jmortensen]

Well it seemed pretty clear that Jason felt that the tornado was unusual ("wow") and caused by global warming ("and to think, people still believe that we have no effect on our environment"). That's what I took from his post anyway.

I was just making an attempt to show that just because something is unusual doesn't mean that it is unprecedented and that not everything is the fault of humankind, despite the flagellant propensities of the enviro-crowd.

[justinr54321]

Well, normally, I'd say its the beginning of the end, however, with everything that's been going on lately, it doesn't surprise me. Gas prices rising, and predicted to go over $5.00 a gallon, tornadoes, rain, snow, frost and what not in areas to where its suppose to be nice and sunny this time of year. The earth is changing, its mad at us for what we have done, and God is not happy with us. And our government needs to stop supporting the oil companies, especially when they've made over a $10 billion profit in one month, and more after the gas prices keep going up. But wait, a lot of the oil big wigs have a great affect on our government...

[bigoak]

That's crazy ! What's going on with our weather ??? Even up in Victoria B.C. Canada , late May is normally 18-22 celcius , lows to 10 , and we're still getting frost ! Slow pitch sucks at 6 degrees 7-9 PM with wind and rain , yet they predict warm + sunny . What's up ????

yes. difficult to play slow pitch but, hey...your beer stays cold...and isn't beer the whole point of slow pitch...