Tornado Hits L.A. Due To Pineapple Express

Around 9:30 am on Friday morning, a small EF-0 tornado touched down in Los Angeles, California.

According to the LA Times, the tornado touched down in the 5800 block of Estrella Avenue. From there it jumped around an area of approximately 10 blocks; all the while, spreading chaos.

One roof was ripped off, five other homes were damaged, and several cars were destroyed during the tornado, according to L.A. Fire Department Spokeswoman, Katherine Main.

The National Weather Service relied on radar data, video footage, and property damage reports to explain the very rare weather occurrence.

“We’re going to call it a small tornado. The damage was sporadic. That’s typical of a tornado,” Eric Boldt, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service stated.

The storm sweeping over L.A. dubbed “The Pineapple Express” is one of the worst storms to affect the West Coast in years. It has caused heavy rain, hurricane-force winds, flash floods, and mudslides. It was this storm that produced the tornado.

Residents of L.A. called in to NBC in order to describe their experiences with the tornado.

“I watched my roof of this house flip and go to the next street. Don’t try to outrun it. You can’t,” Chris McCall said about watching the tornado tear the roof off his home.

“All of the sudden I heard something rumbling, and one of my neighbors was here and she said, ‘The trash can is flying, we’re having a tornado,'” Marleen Benefield said. “I said, ‘No, not in Cali, we don’t do that!'”

“I saw the palm trees swinging, and I wanted to know what it was really,” said Jamie Mena. “Nobody got hurt as far as I know.”

Rose Beard, another resident, was praying in her home when the tornado hit. “I was out on the front porch, I got soaking wet. I thought it was ironic, I just said ‘Oh Lord, wash me,’ and then boom! I just got drenched. Things were flying everywhere. As the day has progressed I’m more and more grateful the tree didn’t fall on me. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”

That tornado was not the only one to hit California on Friday. Reports indicated that a waterspout touched down off Crystal Cove Beach in Newport Beach.

Boldt remarked on the waterspout, “That’s consistent with what we see for (waterspouts). Some of those move onshore once in a while and cause a small tornado on land. It’s not a common thing, but they can occur.”

[ Image courtesy of ABC ]