Tornado flips cars upside down in Scotts Valley, injuries reported – KION546

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) – A tornado touched down in Scotts Valley Saturday afternoon around 1:30 p.m. Several cars were overturned by the strong winds, which lasted only a few minutes.

Several people were treated for minor injuries when the cars overturned on Mount Hermon Road.

At 1:30 p.m., the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the area. Our senior editor on the scene reported seeing debris flying through the air.

KION’s chief meteorologist Dann Cianca says this tornado was caused by a supercell thunderstorm. Supercells have rotating updrafts called mesocyclones, which can sometimes also support the development of tornadoes. While the tornado itself was undetectable on radar, the storm’s rotation was obvious. It is possible that damaging straight-line winds also accompanied the tornado in the area.