5 Dead; 2 Tornadoes; 100 MPH Gusts: Bomb Cyclone Wreaks Havoc In CA

CALIFORNIA — Two tornadoes touched down outside Los Angeles, the lights went out for a quarter-million people and at least five lives were lost as a powerful "bomb cyclone" ripped across the Golden State this week.

The stronger of the two twisters struck east of downtown LA in Montebello late Wednesday morning, tearing across a commercial city block, severing gas lines, and leaving nearly a dozen buildings red-tagged. City officials said one person was taken to the hospital with unknown injuries.

Several people took to social media Wednesday morning with reports and videos of the tornado ripping through the area, and picking up heavy debris. One video posted to Twitter shows a tornado shredding the roof of multiple industrial buildings in Montebello and destroying vehicles in the area.

After visiting the scene for assessment, the National Weather Service said late Wednesday the tornado was an EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with winds ranging from 86 mph to 110 mph. It was the strongest tornado to hit the LA metro since March 1983.

According to the preliminary damage survey, the tornado was on the ground for two or three minutes, traveling about a half-mile.

The report reads in part:

"The tornado primarily impacted an industrial warehouse/commercial business district. Warehouse roofing material consisted of wood frame structure with plywood and roofing material collapsed. Almost a total roof collapse occurred in one building. An HVAC unit was ejected from the top of the building. Skylights were broken. Wood cross beams collapsed. A power pole was snapped with a transformer blown off. Cars were damaged with windows destroyed. A healthy pine tree with a trunk diameter of one foot was uprooted. Seventeen structures were damaged and eleven [structures] had significant damage."

In Santa Barbara County, the weather service confirmed a weaker tornado hit a Carpinteria mobile home community, damaging more than two dozen residences. The second tornado was an EF0, with winds ranging from 65 mph to 80 mph.

5 Dead As 'Tropical Storm-Force Gusts' Rip Through Bay Area

The rare and violent weather came amid a strong, late-season Pacific storm that brought damaging winds to the Bay Area on Tuesday, killing five and seriously injuring an on-duty police sergeant. As the storm toppled trees and wires across the region, nearly 200,000 people were without power, a big rig overturned on the Bay Bridge, and windows fell from San Francisco high-rises.

In the East Bay, several trees fell at the Oakland Zoo, damaging an aviary and allowing six birds to escape. In an update shared Wednesday, the zoo said its animal care team was working nonstop to locate the birds and repair the damage.

In Marin County, officials at Olompali State Historic Park shared photos of major road damage from a mudslide, blocking access to the land for the foreseeable future.

"The impacts from the event resembled that of a landfilling strong tropical storm — likely the closest San Francisco residents will ever come to experiencing that meteorological phenomenon," said Dan DePodwin, AccuWeather's director of forecast operations. "Tropical storm-force wind gusts (39-73 mph) were reported for seven consecutive hours in Oakland. Despite being vastly different in structure than a tropical system, the compact area of low pressure on radar resembled the eye of a hurricane as it moved onshore Tuesday afternoon just south of San Francisco."

Back in Los Angeles, the city logged nearly 1.5 inches of rain Tuesday as thunderstorms and hail pelted SoCal. As AccuWeather notes, the City of Angels has already seen its wettest March since 1995.

In the mountains, Mammoth recorded 18 inches of fresh snow Wednesday, coming within inches of reaching its all-time seasonal record. The resort announced it would extend daily skiing operations until "AT LEAST the end of July."

More Wild Weather May Be On The Way

While communities across the state continue to repair the damage from this week, forecasters are closely monitoring the next storm. In the Bay Area, the National Weather Service shared an early warning of what may be on the horizon.

"As we head into next week, weather concerns increase again as yet another Pacific storm system will approach," NWS Bay Area forecasters said Thursday. "As extraordinary as it would be, there are indications of the possibility the cumulative precipitation could be substantial and accompanying winds strong and gusty."

It is still early in the forecast period, but the weather service said models are in relative agreement that another "unseasonably deep upper-level trough" will develop off the coast, with rain starting for some Monday afternoon and becoming widespread Tuesday morning.

Though dry weather is in the forecast around San Francisco through the weekend, new concerns about frost and potentially freezing overnight temperatures are emerging that could have big impacts on area vineyards.

"[We] have now issued a frost advisory for all of Napa and Sonoma Counties (aside from the coastal strip) for 4 AM to 9 AM Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings," forecasters said. "Friday morning admittedly looks to be close to the margin, but with bud break now underway in the Wine Country would prefer to err on the cautious side."

The National Weather Service said each morning will be colder than the last, and a freeze warning may be issued Sunday for the North Bay.

In Southern California, early forecasts see the next storm impacting the region Tuesday and Wednesday, promising more rain and mountain snow.

"Indications are that most of the rain will occur over SLO/SBA Counties with early estimates of 0.75 to 1.50 inches, except up to 2 inches over the NW Santa Lucia [Mountains]," NWS Los Angeles said Thursday. "For [Ventura and Los Angeles counties], the coast and [valleys] may see 0.25 to 0.50 inches, with 0.50 to 1.00 inches possible in the [mountains], highest on the [south] slopes. There is also the potential for several inches of snow above 4000 to 5000 feet."

Forecasters in San Diego said the low-pressure system would herald the return of rain, but early models did not suggest it would "have access to moisture from an atmospheric river," meaning rain totals should be lower than recent storms.

Until then, the forecast is sunny and clear through the weekend, with afternoon highs in the low-60s around San Diego and mid-60s around Los Angeles.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.