LOS ANGELES (AP) — An unusually cold storm blanketed the mountains of southern California in snow, dumped heavy rain elsewhere and spawned two small tornadoes Thursday as spring struggled to shake off the grip of an exceptionally wet winter.
More than 4 inches of new snow was reported on Mount Wilson, 15 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, the National Weather Service said.
Winter weather advisories have been posted for mountain ranges in three counties. Forecasters said the highest peaks could end up with 14 inches.
Most of the storm moved through southern California overnight. But the weather service issued a warning late this morning for winds up to 50 mph and hail as a storm moved through Los Angeles County.
The weather service confirmed a «brief EF0 tornado» touched down Thursday morning near suburban Carson, later saying a second EF0 tornado struck a few miles east of the first in the Compton area. An EFO tornado is the lowest level in the Enhanced Fujita Scaletypically with winds between 65 mph and 85 mph.
“Based on media video, there was minor damage to buildings, vehicle damage from debris, and tree damage,” the Los Angeles weather service office said. Twitter.
Television reports showed some roofs torn off of industrial and commercial buildings. No injuries were reported. The damage did not appear as extensive as the destruction left behind by a tornado in Los Angeles County in March.
At the beginning of the week, the center of the storm it wobbled around the San Francisco Bay area, sending rain and snow across Northern California. The weather in the north was expected to remain cool and unsettled, with occasional showers, thunderstorms, and late-season snowfall with minor accumulations at higher elevations.
California appeared headed for a fourth year of devastating drought before back-to-back atmospheric rivers and a gust of arctic air dumped huge amounts of rain and snow between late December and March, creating a massive snowpack in the Sierra Nevada.
Runoff from the storm has caused agricultural fields in the San Joaquin Valley below the Sierra Sur to flood. But the major melting of the huge snow cover has not yet occurred.
The state Department of Water Resources said this week that despite a brief rise in temperatures in late April, snowpack has been melting at a slower-than-average rate due to below-average temperatures through beginning of the month and cloud cover.