Not 1, but 2 tornadoes ripped through SLO County this week. Here’s where
Not just one tornado hit San Luis Obispo County during the freak storm event that hit the Central Coast region on late Wednesday afternoon.
The National Weather Service confirmed in a new report published Thursday evening that two tornadoes touched down in the county on Wednesday.
The first tornado barreled through eastern Los Osos with a peak of 95 mph winds at 3:41 p.m. along Los Osos Valley Road, the Weather Service wrote in its report.
For about 6 minutes, the weak tornado ripped eastward about 5 miles before it dissipated near the intersection of Los Osos Valley Road and Foothill Boulevard, according to the Weather Service.
The tornado snapped and downed several power poles along Los Osos Valley Road and tore sections of a roof off a greenhouse, the Weather Service said.
The second weak tornado touched down near Grover Beach’s city center off Rockaway Avenue near 7th Street at about 3:57 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Weather Service.
It spent 2 minutes tearing about a mile eastward with 95 mph winds, the Weather Service wrote in its report.
Though brief, the tornado caused significant damage in Grover Beach including uprooted trees, damaged businesses and toppled power poles, according to the Weather Service. Two people were also temporarily trapped in a damaged building after the tornado, although no one was harmed.
The two Wednesday tornadoes were classified as “EF-1” tornadoes. That is the second weakest category on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which classifies tornadoes into the following categories based on wind speed:
- EF-0: 65 mph to 85 mph
- EF-1: 86 mph to 110 mph
- EF-2: 111 mph to 135 mph
- EF-3: 136 mph to 165 mph
- EF-4: 166 mph to 200 mph
- EF-5: Greater than 200 mph
History of tornadoes in SLO County
The two tornadoes on Wednesday were the first to touch down in San Luis Obispo County since Feb. 2, 2004, the Weather Service noted in its report.
During the 2004 event, a waterspout developed offshore of Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area and came onshore as a weak, EF-0 tornado, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. A California State Parks ranger was hit while in his truck but was not injured and no significant damage was reported, according to the agency.
And in 1998, an EF-0 tornado briefly touched down in San Luis Obispo at the base of Cerro San Luis near Brizzolara Street, damaging four homes and knocking out power to several hundred homes, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.
No other tornadoes have been recorded in San Luis Obispo County since official records began in 1950.
