Tornado hits southern California as wild weather continues

LOS ANGELES, United States, March 23 ----- A tornado tore through a southern California city Wednesday, ripping roofs off buildings and throwing cars around, as the state's ongoing winter weather drama turned even wilder.

A swirling mass of wind- of the kind usually seen in the Midwest - raked the city of Montebello near Los Angeles, breaking windows and sending residents scurrying to safety. Footage showed what appeared to be roofing material circling above industrial buildings in the city, which lies just a few miles from downtown Los Angeles. Aerial pictures in the aftermath showed holes in several roofs, pipes and installations twisted and broken, and cars seemingly pushed out of their parking bays.

The National Weather Service said it was investigating the event, which it called "a weak tornado," and another in Carpinteria, near Santa Barbara. Tornadoes violently rotating columns of air that touch the ground are nature's most violent storms, the NWS says. They can pack winds of up to 300 miles (480 kilometers) an hour and can tear through a neighborhood in seconds.

Preliminary NWS estimates suggest these two events had winds up to 85 miles an hour.

Source: mb.com.ph