LA County Twister Is Strongest Tornado To Hit SoCal In 40 Years

MONTEBELLO, CA — The idea of a tornado ripping through the Los Angeles area is so farfetched, it inspired the "Sharknado" film franchise. Even as videos of roof panels whirling around a funnel cloud in Montebello began circulating on social media Wednesday, the experts turned a skeptical eye on Southern California, waiting hours to confirm the obvious: a tornado touched down in Los Angeles County.

National Weather Service officials said Thursday the tornado that touched down in Montebello reached 110 mph, earning a rating of EF1. The last time Los Angeles County experienced a twister of that magnitude was in 1983 when an F2 twister struck. Less powerful tornados struck in January 1998 in Long Beach and in 2014 in Inglewood, according to the National Weather Service.

But tornados in the Southland is not as rare as they may seem.

The Montebello tornado was the most powerful of three to hit California Wednesday as an unpredictable storm lashed the state.

“People feel like we don’t get tornadoes in California, but we do actually get them here,” Carol Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service told the Los Angeles Times. “To get a tornado in any one spot is very rare, but to see a few of them a year is not uncommon.”

The Montebello twister came on suddenly.

It grew to 50 yards wide and almost a half-mile long and lasted for about three minutes, according to the National Weather Service. It swirled around an industrial center collapsing the roof of one building, damaging 16 more and snapping a power pole. It damaged cars and a tree.

One person suffered minor injuries when the twister hit around 11:20 a.m. Wednesday, focused generally in the area of Washington Boulevard and Vail Avenue, in a largely industrial district.

Montebello fire officials said Wednesday that 17 buildings had some type of damage, and 11 of them were red-tagged, or marked unsuitable for occupation.

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.

City News Service contributed to this report.