US: San Francisco experiences first tornado warning in history

For the first time in recorded history, a tornado warning was issued for downtown San Francisco early Saturday morning as intense storms battered the city.

The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (SFDEM) confirmed that the warning, which caused widespread alarm, was lifted around 6:14 a.m. Pacific Time as the storm moved northeast of the area.

In an earlier statement, SFDEM urged residents to “take shelter now in a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. If you are outdoors, in a mobile, home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from debris.”

According to CNN, the National Weather Service (NWS) also issued a flood advisory and a high wind warning, with gusts reaching as high as 83 mph, recorded at San Francisco International Airport. A video posted on Facebook captured palm trees swaying violently under the extreme winds in downtown San Francisco.

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More than 10,000 residents lost power during the storm, adding to the chaos. Although California typically averages nine tornadoes a year, the NWS confirmed this was the first time downtown San Francisco had ever faced such a warning.

This unprecedented event comes just one week after a tsunami warning shook the region following a powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake off the California coast on December 5. The warning, which affected nearly 5 million people along parts of Northern California and Oregon, was later canceled. Coastal communities had braced for the worst, with some residents fleeing their homes, but disaster was averted.

The earthquake’s epicentre was located south of Eureka, California, in the Pacific Ocean, according to the US Geological Survey. Officials noted that quakes of this magnitude are rare, with only about 15 occurring globally each year.

While most off-coast quakes trigger tsunami warnings due to the uncertainty of immediate risks, experts continue to emphasise the potential devastation such events could cause if realised.

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