EF1 tornado south of San Francisco, big rigs and cars overturned from high-speed winds
Scotts Valley tornado reports
Video shared with KTVU shows a tornado touching down near a parking lot in Scotts Valley Saturday afternoon.
The National Weather Service said based on videos, photos, firsthand accounts, and radar signatures, a tornado touched down around 1:40 p.m. They ranked the tornado as an EF1 and said the most damage was seen along Mt. Hermon Road.
Photos of the aftermath also show several cars flipped over from the tornado. CHP Santa Cruz shut down Mt. Hermon Road between Kings Village and Lockwood due to multiple crashes blocking the road.
They are advising drivers to avoid the area and to use alternate routes. No estimated time of reopening was provided.
Scotts Valley police reported six cars were flipped over and five people were injured by the tornado. Their injuries are considered minor, officials said. One of the cars was a Cal Fire truck.
Flight delays and cancelations
At San Francisco International Airport, at least 163 flights were delayed because of the weather, officials said. San Jose Mineta Airport said their operations are running smoothly, with no weather-related impacts.
Saturday morning, Oakland Metropolitan Airport saw six delays each for departures and arrivals but no cancelations, according to airport officials.
Knocked down trees and power lines
In Novato, some roads have been shut down from winds with gusts from 70 to 80 mph. A downed power line was seen on Fairway Drive near Carnoustie around 11 a.m. Saturday.
Crews are out on Mission and 25th Streets to help clear downed trees from the storm in San Francisco.
Overturned vehicles
Westbound on Interstate 580 at I-205, a semi truck flipped over due to high winds in the area around 2 p.m. Saturday. Additionally, there were several solo vehicle spinouts.
West and eastbound I-580 lanes are blocked, and the interstate is closed in both directions until the winds die down, and the cars can be uprighted, CHP Tracy said.
CHP Dublin added the roads aren't expected to be reopened for three hours.
Brief, but historic tornado warning
A powerful winter storm battered the Bay Area Friday night into Saturday, causing widespread issues, power outages and downed trees and flooding. Off-and-on rain and strong, gusty winds continued to hammer the region as the storm moved east.
Residents in San Francisco and parts of San Mateo counties reported being abruptly awoken by a tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service. It was the city’s first-ever tornado warning.
According to the NWS on ‘X’—the warning was ‘radar indicated,’ which means possible tornado conditions were detected. There is no confirmation yet of a tornado touching down. The warning expired about 20 minutes later.
Winds at that time were reported to be in excess of 60 miles per hour. The NWS is investigating if damage in the area, including downed trees caused by tornadic activity.
"Tsunamis, tornadoes… man who knows what's coming next," said San Francisco resident Sam Marshall. "I grew up in Pennsylvania and we would get tornado warnings all the time, but I don't remember one that ever touched down."
From the Outer Sunset to the Outer Richmond, emergency crews worked to clear the damage. Several lanes were roped off at 36th Avenue and Fulton, and traffic was rerouted, as workers removed trees that snapped onto the roadway and parked vehicles.
As of 11 a.m., PG&E reported 108,978 customers without power across San Francisco, the Peninsula, East Bay, South Bay and North Bay. Novato police reported a city-wide outage, urging people to stay home.
Widespread and wind damage were reported all across the Bay Area, including our crews capturing video of cars submerged in Livermore at Murrieta and Stanley Boulevards.
As the storm continues to move east, KTVU meteorologists say the backside of the front will continue to create instability, making pop-up thunderstorms possible, and the gusty winds will continue to batter the area.
Powerful waves crashed against the seawall and jumped the pier in Pacifica.
Emergency officials urged people to stay off beaches and away from the coast, as heavy rain and wind moved through the area.
"This has lasted longer than [usual], usually the rain blows through here pretty fast, but it rained all night last night, it was a pretty good downpour," said Pacifica resident Tom Sershen.
The rain remained heavy into early Saturday, and whipping winds remained a concern.
Jed Thompson is a local surfer, who is staying away from the shoreline.
"Today's way too windy to surf though, there's too much chop and I doubt anybody will go out, plus the water quality goes down quite a bit when there's a runoff," said Thompson.
The storm has knocked out power to hundreds of PG&E customers in Pacifica, including Seaview Tire and Brake Center. While the power was restored in the morning, owner Bill Meyerhoff said he still did not have internet or phone service. He was still working to serve as many customers as possible. He said he's seen an increase in business due to the storm.
"We've had the last few days, we've had a lot of people who have done exactly that - hit curbs and damaged tires and wheels and such," he said.
The next storm is set to arrive on Monday.
KTVU reporter Zak Sos contributed to this report.