Rare Tornado Carves Destructive Path Through Pico Rivera
A rare EF-0 tornado tore through a Pico Rivera neighborhood early Thursday morning, leaving a four-block trail of toppled trees, damaged power lines, and startled residents southeast of downtown L.A.The National Weather Service confirmed the twister touched down around 3:15 a.m. in the El Rancho neighborhood, with winds reaching approximately 85 mph during its brief two-minute touchdown, according to NBCLA. NWS dispatched a survey team to the area to assess the damage pattern and officially classify the event."We'd been talking about the potential for tornados in this area for days in advance," said Ariel Cohen of the National Weather Service. "We had a line of intense showers that reformed over central and southern Los Angeles County. This activity exhibited some weak rotation with it."Morning light revealed the tornado's destructive path, including a massive tree that crashed near the intersection of Church and Underwood streets. Juan Valencia was jolted from sleep when the tree came down outside his family's home."I woke up to a big boom," Valencia said, describing how the tree fell directly onto their car, crushing the hood and shattering the windshield.The damage assessment showed another tree ripped from the ground and leaning precariously against a house roof, while a third appeared split at its trunk. Despite the property damage, no injuries were reported in the aftermath.The tornado coincided with an overnight storm that brought steady rainfall and strong winds across L.A. County. The increased precipitation rates prompted evacuation warnings in several burn zones, including neighborhoods near the Palisades and Eaton fires due to potential slides and debris flows.Though tornados remain unusual in California, they're not unprecedented. In February, NWS confirmed a weak tornado damaged a mobile home park in Oxnard, while a more significant tornado struck Montebello in March 2023. Perhaps most memorably, a powerful 1983 tornado with winds between 113 and 157 mph caused extensive damage in areas south of downtown L.A., including partially removing the roof of the L.A. Convention Center.Cohen noted that certain areas of L.A. County are particularly susceptible to these weather events. "There is a local maximum of tornado frequencies across the L.A. basin, especially areas between Downey, Montebello, Compton, Carson areas, East Los Angeles," he explained. "That entire area has a very localized, meteorologically prime set of ingredients that can support the development of weak small tornados. We actually have seen them occur with actual frequencies that rival some portions of the Midwest."While Thursday's storm is expected to move eastward, forecasters predict continued showers and possible thunderstorms throughout the day across L.A. County.
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