Storm Spawns Another NorCal Tornado; Bay Area’s Unusually Wet, Cool Spring Not Going Away Yet
YUBA CITY (CBS / KCBS /AP) — Weather service forecaster George Cline said no damage has been reported after a tornado was spotted in a rural area about 5 miles north of Yuba City around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The tornado formed as a powerful rainstorm whipped through the area. The weather service had issued tornado warnings for the region.
Three-quarter inch hail was also reported during the storm in the Folsom area, east of Sacramento.
Besides the tornado, a thunderstorm cell spawned at least one funnel cloud over Davis on Wednesday afternoon, witnesses and meteorologists confirmed.
View more photos and video of the twisters.
Dark clouds and heavy rain swept through Yolo County between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., sparking a tornado warning after witnesses spotted multiple funnel clouds over the skies near Davis. The strong storm cell grew in strength and dumped hail at least a half-inch in diameter once the storm passed Power Balance Pavilion and moved through Rio Linda and North Highlands.
Witnesses said the downpour in the heart of the storm became so bad that driving was impossible.
Dozens of lightning strikes were reported, but there was no immediate word of any significant damage or injuries.
Wednesday's twister struck not far from where three tornadoes touched down last week, destroying hundreds of acres of almond orchards.
June 1st typically has many Bay Area residents headed for the pool, the amusement park or some other outdoor activity where the weather can be enjoyed. Suffice it to say that is not happening this year.
It actually hasn't been the coldest May on record. In fact, it was only number 26 on the all time list. But that doesn't make it any less annoying for some people.
"It's going to continue right on through the first couple weeks of June," said meteorologist Jan Null with the Golden Gate Weather Services.
Null said the wet weather will intensify this weekend when Bay Area cities could pick up several inches of rain. Rain will become heavy during the Friday commute and continue through Saturday tapering off Sunday. Current conditions can be blamed on a low pressure trough out of Alaska, not on the El Niño phenomenon.
Check the forecast in your area.
"What's interesting about the El Nino, La Nina connection though is that last year was just about as cool for April and May, and that was an El Niño year, so it's more in the category of 'stuff happens,'" said Null.
Of course, the rain will eventually end, the sun will come out, and the temperatures will rise, and Bay Area sun worshippers will have most of the summer left to enjoy it.
Photo captions: Yuba City residents watch tornado. (Angie Owens/ CBS SF); Hail falls in Roseville, near Sacramento. (Debbie Camillio/CBS Sacramento)
