By Yusra Farzan for LAist
Originally published Mar. 13, 2025
A small tornado uprooted trees and damaged roofs and cars in Pico Rivera early Thursday, just as a powerful storm was moving out of Southern California, the National Weather Service confirmed.
Officials said the tornado touched down between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. with wind speeds of 85 mph. The tornado lasted 2 minutes and was around 1 mile long and 80 yards wide, damaging roughly four blocks.
Mike Wofford, a meteorologist at NWS, told LAist the tornado measured 0 on the EF scale, the lowest rating. While these tornadoes are relatively weak, they can cause moderate damage in densely populated areas. The tornado Thursday morning snapped trees, sending them toppling over roadways.
A possible tornado touched down in Pico Rivera at 3:15 am. Powerful winds ripped trees out of the ground and knocked down power lines. Thankfully, LASD deputies have told me no one was injured.@NWSLosAngeles will be on site soon. #LARain pic.twitter.com/BnTGIGdC5Y
— Janice Hahn (@SupJaniceHahn) March 13, 2025
How common are tornadoes
While tornadoes aren’t a frequent phenomenon in California, L.A. County has seen 49since 1950, according to the most recent data available from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Six of the tornadoes caused injuries and 20 inflicted property damage.
The tornadoes typically happen in cooler months when powerful storms like the one we just had pass through the area.
Research from NOAA also shows that the L.A. area has seen a disproportionately higher number of tornadoes compared to the rest of California because of “the shape of the coastline and the inland location of the mountains enhance the low-level convergence field.”
In 2023, L.A. County saw two tornadoes separated by 13 minutes touched down in the Carson–Compton area as an unseasonably cool storm brought rain to the area. The tornadoes were small, but their winds estimated at 75 mph did cause some damage in the area.
This report is reprinted with permission from Southern California Public Radio. © 2024 Southern California Public Radio. All rights reserved.
