Dec. 15 (UPI) — A rare tornado struck Scotts Valley, just south of the Bay Area, overturning cars, damaging trees and knocking out power with an estimated peak winds of 90 mph.
San Francisco city and county received the first warning Saturday since the inception of reliable weather records in 1950, Nicole Sarment, a weather service meteorologist in the Bay Area, told NBC News. It was issued shortly before 6 a.m., but it was canceled after no tornado was organized in the area.
A wind gust of 83 mph was reported at San Francisco International Airport.
A National Weather Service damage survey determined an EF1 tornado touched down in Scotts Valley at 1:39 p.m. and traveled about 30 yards, with the most severe damage on the city’s main street and retail district, the survey found. An EF1 ranges from 86-110 mph…