Rare EF-0 tornado strikes Los Angeles, damaging roofs and uprooting trees

A rare EF-0 tornado struck East Los Angeles overnight, damaging roofs and uprooting trees along a one-mile path, according to meteorologists.

A storm damage assessment from the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Los Angeles, California, confirmed on Thursday that a high-end EF-0 tornado occurred in the East Los Angeles community of Pico Rivera.

Based on the pattern of damage assessed and eyewitness accounts, the NWS rated the tornado damage as from a high-end EF-0 tornado with estimated peak winds of 85 mph.

The “small, weak, and brief” tornado uprooted trees, downed large tree branches, and damaged roofs, the NWS said. Some trees fell on residences and vehicles, causing additional damage.

The tornado developed over the northeast portion of Pico Rivera, tracked northeastward at around 30 mph along a one-mile path, and dissipated near the intersection of the 605 Freeway and Whittier Boulevard. The most intense damage from the tornado occurred in the vicinity of Glencannon Drive.

The tornado was associated with a shallow meso-vortex embedded within a small quasi-linear convective system that tracked northeastward across the LA Basin during the pre-dawn hours of Thursday. This activity was linked to a large and strong storm system that also produced flooding elsewhere across the Greater L.A. area.

Tornadoes in the Los Angeles area are rare and often weak when they occur. In March 2023, a tornado struck the Montebello area, next to Pico Rivera, where Thursday’s tornado touched down. The Montebello tornado was rated as an EF-1 with peak winds of 110 mph, the strongest in the region since 1983, leaving a couple of injuries and causing significant damage to several buildings.