Tornado touches down in California’s Central Valley near Fresno, National Weather Service confirms

By Tim Fang

The National Weather Service has confirmed reports of a tornado that touched down in California’s Central Valley on Tuesday, as a powerful spring storm passed through the region.

According to the agency’s Storm Prediction Center, the tornado was reported after 5 p.m. 11 miles northeast of the city of Clovis. A tornado warning was in effect at the time for the communities of Auberry and Tollhouse.

“Damage assessment team reported snapped and uprooted trees consistent with EF1 damage from tornado around 5:24PM PDT,” the agency said in a statement.

The weather service said an EF1 tornado has winds between 86 and 110 mph.

Around 2 p.m., the weather service issued multiple tornado warnings for areas north of Fresno. According to Fresno CBS affiliate KGPE-TV, school districts in the area issued shelter-in-place orders when the warnings were in effect.

The Storm Prediction Center also confirmed reports of damaging winds in Merced County, including downed trees near the communities of Ballico and Cressley. Near the city of Atwater, a farm and house also sustained property damage due to the wind.