US storms bring heavy snow, dangerous ice and tornado to California – National

A tornado near a central California shopping center swept away cars, uprooted trees and sent several people to the hospital. In San Francisco, authorities issued the first-ever tornado warning.

Elsewhere, adverse weather hit parts of the United States, with dangerous conditions including heavy snow in upstate New York, a major ice storm in the Midwest states and warnings severe weather around Lake Tahoe.

The ice storm that began Friday evening created dangerous driving conditions in Iowa and eastern Nebraska Friday and Saturday and caused temporary closures of Interstate 80 after many cars and trucks slid off of the road. In upstate New York, more than 33 inches (84 centimeters) were reported near Orchard Park, which is often a landing spot for lake-effect snow.

On Saturday, a tornado touched down near a shopping center in Scotts Valley, California, about 70 miles south of San Francisco, around 1:40 p.m. The tornado overturned cars and toppled trees and utility poles , the National Weather Service said. . The Scotts Valley Police Department said several people were injured and taken to the hospital.

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Some trees fell on cars and streets and damaged roofs in San Francisco. The damage is being assessed to determine if the city was indeed hit by a tornado, which has not happened since 2005, according to the weather service.

Roger Gass, a meteorologist at the weather service office in Monterey, Calif., said the warning of a possible tornado in San Francisco was a first for the city, noting that an early warning had not been issued until the last tornado struck almost 20 years ago.

“I guess there wasn’t a clear signature on the radar for a warning in 2005,” said Gass, who was not there at the time.

The fast-moving storm prompted residents to seek shelter, but few people own basements in the area.

“The most important thing we tell people in the city is to put as many walls between you and the outside as possible,” said meteorologist Dalton Behringer.

More than 12 inches of snow fell at some Lake Tahoe ski resorts and a wind gust of 115 mph was recorded at Mammoth Mountain resort south of Yosemite National Park, according to the weather service office. in Reno, Nevada. Up to 36 inches of snow was forecast for Sierra Nevada peaks.

The Tahoe Live music festival at the Palisades Tahoe ski resort in California was scheduled to go ahead as planned Saturday and Sunday despite a winter storm warning for the area. Lil Wayne was scheduled to perform Saturday night, with Diplo headlining Sunday, the festival’s website said.

A winter storm warning was set to expire at 10 p.m. Saturday, but an avalanche warning remained in effect the following night for elevations above 8,000 feet (about 2,400 meters) around Tahoe.

Interstate 80 was closed Saturday along a 80-mile stretch from Applegate, Calif., to the Nevada line just west of Reno. The California Highway Patrol reopened the road in the afternoon to passenger vehicles equipped with chains or four-wheel drive and snow tires.

Severe weather in the Midwest has left at least one person dead. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Nebraska said a 57-year-old woman died after she lost control of her pickup truck on Highway 30 near Arlington and struck an oncoming truck. opposite direction. The other driver was slightly injured.

Businesses announced plans to open Saturday evening, as temperatures rose enough in the afternoon to melt the ice in most locations.

“Fortunately, some warmer air is circulating behind this to make this temporary,” said Dave Cousins, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Davenport, Iowa.

Tens of thousands of people in western Washington state lost power Saturday due to rain and gusty winds, local media reported.

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