US Hit by Severe Weather: Tornado in California, Heavy Snow, and Dangerous Ice Storms “`
A tornado near a central California mall overturned vehicles, uprooted trees, and caused injuries requiring hospitalization. San Francisco issued its first-ever tornado warning.
Severe weather impacted other U.S. regions, including heavy snowfall in upstate New York, a significant ice storm in the Midwest, and severe weather alerts around Lake Tahoe.
Beginning Friday evening, an ice storm caused hazardous driving conditions across Iowa and eastern Nebraska, leading to temporary Interstate 80 closures due to numerous vehicle accidents. Upstate New York reported over 33 inches (84 centimeters) of snow near Orchard Park, a frequent recipient of lake-effect snow.
On Saturday, a tornado touched down near a Scotts Valley, California shopping mall (approximately 70 miles south of San Francisco) around 1:40 p.m. The National Weather Service reported overturned cars, downed trees, and utility poles. The Scotts Valley Police Department confirmed multiple injuries and hospital transports.
In San Francisco, fallen trees caused damage to vehicles, streets, and roofs. Damage assessments are underway to confirm whether the city experienced a tornado, an event unseen since 2005, according to the weather service.
Roger Gass, a meteorologist with the Monterey, California weather service office, stated that the San Francisco tornado warning was unprecedented, noting a lack of advanced warning for the city’s previous tornado nearly 20 years prior.
“I would guess there wasn’t a clear signature on radar for a warning in 2005,” said Gass, who was not there at the time.
The rapidly moving storm prompted shelter-in-place warnings, despite the area’s scarcity of basements.
“The biggest thing that we tell people in the city is to put as many walls between you and the outside as possible,” Meteorologist Dalton Behringer said.
Lake Tahoe ski resorts received over a foot (30 centimeters) of snow, with Mammoth Mountain resort recording a 112-mph (181-kph) wind gust. Up to 3 feet (91 centimeters) of snow was predicted for Sierra Nevada mountain peaks.
The Tahoe Live music festival at Palisades Tahoe proceeded as scheduled despite a winter storm warning. Lil Wayne and Diplo were slated to perform Saturday and Sunday, respectively, according to the festival’s website.
A winter storm warning expired at 10 p.m. Saturday, but an avalanche warning persisted into Sunday for elevations above 8,000 feet (about 2,400 meters) around Tahoe.
Interstate 80 closed for an 80-mile (130-kilometer) stretch from Applegate, California to the Nevada state line. The California Highway Patrol later reopened the road to passenger vehicles equipped with chains or four-wheel drive and snow tires.
Midwest severe weather resulted in at least one fatality. Nebraska’s Washington County Sheriff’s office reported a 57-year-old woman died after losing control of her vehicle on Highway 30 and colliding with an oncoming truck. The other driver sustained minor injuries.
Businesses delayed opening on Saturday following afternoon temperature increases that melted most of the ice.
“Luckily some warmer air is moving in behind this to make it temporary,” said Dave Cousins, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s office in Davenport, Iowa.
Local news reported tens of thousands of western Washington residents experienced power outages due to rain and strong winds.