LOS ANGELES, California — A rare tornado formed above the city of Montebello, in east Los Angeles County, during a storm on Wednesday, and appeared to tear the roof off a nearby building.
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The tornado was identified as a landspout. Landspouts form differently from tornadoes, in that they arise from winds near the ground.
Funnel clouds are not unknown in L.A. (this reporter witnessed one in in 2014), and one seemed to form above the landspout.
The National Weather Service (NWW) had warned in advance that conditions were ideal for the formation of landspouts. The NWS also confirmed that Tuesday, another landspout — identified in some reports as a waterspout — touched down further north in the seaside town of Carpenteria and damaged mobile homes.
Local news station KTLA reported that the NWS had confirmed that the Montebello twister was a tornado.
KTLA added:
The rare weather event was reported a few minutes before 11:30 a.m., according to the Verdugo Fire Communications Center. Aerial video from Sky5 showed the storm ripped-off parts of a roof and scattered debris in the area of South Vail Street and Washington Boulevard.
It tore through portions of roof tops, sent signs flying, downed trees and damaged several cars.
The Los Angeles Times reported:
One person was confirmed injured after the event. In addition, several news outlets reported that 11 buildings were red-tagged, meaning they were too dangerous to inhabit, and that an additional six buildings sustained damage due to the tornado. The National Weather Service said it was still completing its report on the damage.
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