Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Tornado Warning Expires; Water Spout Supposedly Spotted Off of Ocean Beach

Winds of 30 to 40 mph, a downpour of rain, and pea-sized hail were reported

Update 2:30pm: 

A reader submitted video to ABC 7 supposedly shows a water spout, or a tornado over a body ov water, off of Ocean Beach in San Francisco. In the video, the man holding the camera states that is a "tornado touch down."

Take a look at the screen shots to the right. 

Find out what's happening in Pacificawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service expired today at 11:30am, half an hour after it was issued.

No damage has been reported in the bay area. 

Find out what's happening in Pacificawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Update 12:00pm:  

A tornado warning for San Mateo County issued by the National Weather Service expired at 11:30 a.m. with no report of damage, a meteorologist with the weather service said late this morning.

The warning was issued at about 11 a.m. for most of the county as the weather service's radar system picked up signs of a severe thunderstorm and possible tornado approaching the coast, meteorologist Steve Anderson said.

Winds of 30 to 40 mph, a downpour of rain, and pea-sized hail were reported, but not a tornado, Anderson said.

The heavy part of the storm has passed through the Peninsula, and "once it got over the Bay, it decreased in intensity rapidly," he said.

 The storm was moving through Alameda and Contra Costa counties as
of 11:40 a.m., he said.

Original Post:

The National Weather Service has issued a rare tornado warning for San Mateo County today as sudden storm conditions – including high winds and squalls – buffet the region.

The warning was supposed to be in place until 11:30 a.m. today due to a severe thunderstorm in the area. The warning is for the cities of San Mateo, San Carlos, Redwood City, Millbrae, Foster City, Burlingame, Belmont, Hillsborough and Half Moon Bay, according to the weather service.

People caught outside during a tornado should seek shelter in a nearby reinforced  building, or at last resort, seek shelter in a culvert.

Already this morning, a funnel cloud actually did touch down in the North Bay and demolish a structure at a landscaping business in west Santa Rosa, according to reports.

Sue Minnigerode, owner of the Sequoia Landscaping Materials, said she looked outside when she heard the wind howling around 9:45 a.m. and saw pieces of her 100-foot-long metal-framed shed fly onto nearby Pacific Avenue. Debris from the shed landed in nearby power lines and on properties three houses away, she said. Rain is expected to continue this afternoon and tonight, with some thunderstorms expected to produce small hail. South winds will continue with gusts to around 45 mph and lows in the 40s.

Rain is likely for Saturday, with highs in the lower 50s.

-- Staff Reports


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