This is the last thing LA needs after a month of rain storms.
Do The Cyclone
After weeks of nearly-non-stop rain, what some are saying may have been a freaking tornado was filmed as it ripped through Los Angeles County, damaging people and property in its wake.
As LA’s ABC7 reports, the “apparent tornado” claimed the roof of businesses in the East LA County town of Montebello, damaging several cars and injuring at least one person.
Thus far, there isn’t much more information about the injured person or damaged property, but the Angelenos who saw it are freaked out regardless.
“It felt like somebody was hitting the wall with iron bars,” one witness told the local NBC affiliate. “I saw trash flying around, trees falling down. Even our wrought iron gate is torn up.”
Tornados are rare in California, but not quite so much as you’d think, with the state typically getting around 11 per year.
Landspout and About
As you picked up from our intro, there’s some debate over whether it was a proper tornado. In videos, though, it certainly has that characteristic shape.
When interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, National Weather Service meteorologist Kristen Stewart — a different one, presumably — said that, per videos she’d viewed, the act of nature may end up being classified as a “landspout,” which she described as a weaker type of tornado than the kind depicted in films like 1996’s “Twister.”
We’ve received lots of questions regarding what is a landspout vs. a tornado. A landspout IS a tornado. It usually causes less damage than a “typical” tornado. Check out this Weather-Ready Nation graphic explaining the differences of a couple different tornado types. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/d235TUXXlM
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) March 22, 2023
The alleged tornado comes after weeks of rain and thunderstorms that have plagued the City of Angels for what seems like the entire month of March, which caused widespread flooding but also, on the brighter side, ended the water shortage for some of California’s residents in the wake of its historic drought.
Last night, the National Weather Service did indeed warn that a thunderstorm capable of causing a tornado could be hitting LA and Ventura Counties — a warning that now seems, perhaps, well-warranted.
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