Authorities said a tornado touched down in the Northern California city of Scotts Valley near Santa Cruz on Saturday afternoon, flipping cars and downing power lines. According to the fire brigade, several people were injured.
The incident happened around 1:40 p.m. around the 200 block of Mount Hermon Drive. Scotts Valley Police initially posted an alert on social media advising residents to avoid the area following a multi-vehicle crash that knocked out multiple power lines and completely blocked the road in all directions.
Scotts Valley Police Department
Police later posted 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 off the road.”
The Scotts Valley Fire Protection District told CBS News that four to five people were injured in the weather, suffering minor to moderate injuries. At least two of these people have been transported to hospitals.
According to the fire brigade, approximately twenty cars were damaged.
Scotts Valley is a small town about six miles north of Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz County and a short distance from State Highway 17.
The National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning in the area shortly before the tornado.
A later post on
The message noted that an NWS Survey team will further investigate the incident to determine a ranking.
The tornado was just the latest extreme wind event associated with the powerful storm that moved through Northern California overnight. The first ever tornado warning in San Francisco was issued early Saturday morning, shortly before 6 a.m., by the National Weather Service, alerting residents with a cell phone alert that woke many people, according to social media posts.
Although that tornado did not occur, high winds caused impacts across the region, including a citywide power outage in the North Bay town of Novato And a complete closure of Interstate 580 in both directions near the San Joaquin and Alameda county line after a multi-vehicle crash involving a big rig due to high winds.
