Nov. 16--Wild weather swept through California, bringing snow to the Sierra Nevada, a damaging tornado to the Central Valley and strong, chilly winds to the Southland.
A tornado touched down Sunday in the Stanislaus County community of Denair, damaging several homes and buildings, said David Rowe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.
The tornado likely formed during strong thunderstorms that brought rain to the surrounding cities of Modesto and Stockton. It is unclear how strong the tornado was, but it was powerful enough to uproot trees and damage the roofs of houses as it traveled along Zeering Road in Denair neighborhood.
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The weather service plans to survey the damage Monday to determine the tornado's strength.
"The Central Valley is probably the most tornado-prone area in the western part of the U.S.," he said.
As the tornado ripped through neighborhoods, power and gas was knocked out for residents.
Cool and windy conditions were expected to persist Monday in the Central Valley.
In the northern Sierra Nevada, more than a foot of snow blanketed the mountains with some wet flurries falling as low as 3,000 feet.
Blue Canyon near Highway 80 received at least eight inches of snow. The new snow is a relief to ski resorts in the area, some of which opened their lifts during the weekend after months of parched conditions.
"It's good news for them and good news for us," Rowe said.
In Southern California, cold wind plagued parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Snow dusted communities above 3,000-foot elevation, parts of the Grapevine along the 5 Freeway and Big Bear.
Temperatures were expected to stay in the 60s Monday, but the winds should calm by mid-morning.
In Los Angeles County, the strongest winds clocked in at 54 mph in Sandberg and 52 mph at Camp Nine, north of Santa Clarita.
A tree toppled onto a car being driven the 2600 block of South Broadway, trapping the driver, according to Erik Scott, spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Firefighters freed the driver, who was transported to a hospital. The extent of the driver's injuries was not known.
Power was knocked out to more than 8,500 homes and businesses Monday morning, according to Southern California Edison. Crews were working to determine what caused the outage.
Breezy conditions will continue through Tuesday but lose their strength as the week progresses.
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