More rain for Sacramento after Northern California storm wreaks havoc, spurs Santa Cruz tornado

A rare tornado touched down in Santa Cruz County on Saturday, toppling cars and forcing residents to take cover, as a fierce, wind-fueled storm pummeled most of Northern California.

One more storm is expected Monday to rake across the region, including Sacramento, before conditions improve, according to forecasters.

The National Weather Service confirmed the coastal tornado touched down at 1:39 p.m. as an EF-1, the second-weakest on the six-tiered Enhanced Fujita scale. Meteorologists reported that the top speed of the 30-yard-wide tornado was estimated at 90 mph and had traveled a third of a mile before dissipating five minutes later.

Multiple cars were overturned in and around a shopping district in Scotts Valley, according to the city’s police. Power lines were also down and roads blocked in all directions along Mount Hermon Road.

At least three individuals were transported to hospitals for evaluation and treatment of injuries, but no deaths were reported, weather service and police officials said.

Myrl Wallace was just stepping out of the Target store on Mount Hermon Road with some groceries when the rain began falling hard again.

“After I got through the doors the rain went sideways,” Wallace, 58, of Boulder Creek, said. “I turned around and there was a tornado. It was right there, tearing down these branches. It picked up and moved my car, flipped it sideways and backwards against these trees.”

Wallace’s gray Ford F-150 pickup was crumpled and battered. But at least he was unhurt.

“Oh well, what are you going to do?” Wallace said. “For me, it’s not the end of the world. For others, it’s a lot worse. I’ll be fine.”

Scotts Valley Vice Mayor Derek Timm said the twister flipped several vehicles and blew down branches and trees, including one that fell onto the Scotts Valley Middle School. The harsh winds ripped traffic signal lights off of their support poles, blew down a lamp post in the Scotts Valley Target parking lot and knocked over electrical power poles, cutting off power and snarling traffic throughout the afternoon.

“Luckily, there was no loss of life,” Timm said, praising the quick and professional response of local public safety agencies.

Timm, who grew up in Nebraska and Kentucky where tornados are more common, said Saturday’s event “brings back some not very pleasant memories.” Such events are rare in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The closest thing he recalled was a “roll cloud” — like a sideways tornado — that came with the lightning storm that ignited the CZU Lightning Complex fire in 2020.

“It’s just hard to digest what’s going on,” he said.

Earlier that day, NWS radars indicated strong winds off the coast, meeting conditions that would trigger a tornado warning for San Francisco and northern San Mateo County. The warning, which was the first-ever in San Francisco, went into effect around 5:54 a.m. before being lifted about 20 minutes later. Hefty wind gusts knocked down trees and power lines across the city, blocking major roadways and streets and shocking residents.

California witnesses an average of 11 tornadoes a year — typically during the spring and fall, according to the NWS. Although tornadoes can occur across the state, they are commonly found in the northern Sacramento Valley.

Winds, rain blanket Sacramento region

More than 100 miles north, strong winds also plagued the Sacramento area during Saturday’s quick-moving storm with gusts reaching 56 mph at Mather Airport and 48 mph at McClellan Airport. Sacramento Executive and International Airports saw gusts as high as 46 and 48 mph, respectively, though top winds through the city’s core were in the mid-30s.

The wind downed trees and power lines, mainly across portions of the foothills during the morning, the weather service’s Sacramento office said.

Executive Airport saw a new rainfall record Saturday with 1.10 inches of rain, breaking the previous daily amount on Dec. 14 of 1.02 inches set in 1997. On Friday, another record fell as 1.96 inches was recorded, the most on Dec. 13 since 0.86 inches of rain fell in 1978.

Records were set Friday at the downtown Sacramento gauge as 2 inches fell, the weather service said, surpassing the daily record in 1978 (1.07). Another record was set at Stockton’s airport, which saw 0.84 inches (0.62 inches in 1946).

Since the water year began on Oct. 1, the city has received 6.01 inches of rain, 140% of average precipitation through Sunday.

On Saturday, downtown Sacramento’s gauge measured 1.22 inches of precipitation. Higher amounts were recorded in Foothill Farm (1.63 inches) and Orangevale (1.88), according to the weather service. Locations in the Sierra foothills ranged from 2 to 4 inches.

Flooding prompted road closures north of the capital in Glenn and Yuba counties, but no new flood advisories are expected, forecasters said.

In the Sierra, many locations received 8 inches or more of snow during the storm: Donner Peak saw 17 inches of snow while Soda Springs had more than a foot and Kingvale saw 14 inches in 24 hours. UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab reported that storm totals near Truckee totaled 40.9 inches since Thursday.

While Sunday’s foggy conditions gave Northern California a break, more rain is expected Monday. Sacramento could receive a tenth- to a quarter-inch of rain while north state locations including Chico and Red Bluff could see up to a half-inch of new precipitation. Redding could get as much as a full inch of water before conditions clear out for the week. Mountain spots are expected to receive an inch to 2 inches of new snow above 4,000 feet.

In the capital, a high of 51 degrees is expected Monday and an overnight low of 44 degrees into Tuesday. Temperatures in the Sacramento Valley are expected to warm after the quick storm, according to forecasters. Fog is likely to return to Valley spots in the mornings with temperatures ranging from the upper 50s during the day to the low 40s at night.

This story was originally published December 15, 2024 at 2:07 PM.