Twin tornadoes struck near Los Angeles yesterday

Twin tornadoes struck near Los Angeles

Spring storms caused two minor tornadoes to touch down Thursday morning (May 4, 2023) near Los Angeles, California, in the Carson and Compton areas. They damaged vehicles and buildings and toppled at least one large tree, according to ABC7 Eyewitness News in Los Angeles. The building damaged included holes in at least two warehouses, and some of the debris landed on vehicles parked nearby, according NBC Los Angeles.

There were no reports of injuries.

Carson is in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located 13 miles (21 km) south of downtown Los Angeles. And Compton is southeast of downtown Los Angeles, on the west side of the Los Angeles River.

Although rare, this is not even the first time this year that the Los Angeles area has experienced tornadoes. A tornado hit southeast L.A. on March 22, 2023.

What the National Weather Service said

The first tornado, in Carson, was estimated to have winds at up to 75 mph (120 kph). It hit around 8:45 a.m. local time. The National Weather Service (NWS) rated it a relatively weak EF0, and, according to the NWS, it followed:

… a concentrated short path of minor damage to a couple of buildings, vehicle damage from debris, and tree damage.

The second tornado hit about 10 minutes later, the NWS said. They rated this tornado at EF0 also and said:

The tornado produced a very narrow path of minor damage including a downed power line, tarps torn from a nursery, minor roof damage to a home, downed small tree limbs, and siding damage to a couple of homes.

Tornado images from Twitter

Vertical tilting of horizontal vorticity in its most dramatic form. Wow! Amazing footage of the Compton EF-0 tornado today.

This is a fantastic illustration of how horizontally-oriented spin in the atmosphere gets tilted vertically to form a tornado that touches the ground.#CAwx https://t.co/OEn9YTwItd

— Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) May 5, 2023

@KTLA @NBCNews @ABC7
Possible Tornado in Compton, CA #ktla #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/mqeS2akk4g

— viviana? (@luckivivii) May 4, 2023

I just saw a mini Tornado in Compton…. life is great ? pic.twitter.com/clvjPxJbAG

— Aldis (@Aldough__) May 4, 2023

Two tornadoes occurred this morning in the Carson/Compton area, just a few miles apart and within 10 to 15 minutes of each other. Based on the damage, the tornadoes were both rated EF0. Follow the link for more details. #LAwx #CAweather #tornadohttps://t.co/tM72O9rkuA pic.twitter.com/q8Eg1UBrKX

— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) May 5, 2023

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Bottom line: Twin tornadoes struck near Los Angeles on May 4, 2023. With winds up to 76 mph (120 kph), they damaged buildings and cars, and uprooted a tree.