Numerous Tornadoes in Northern California on Monday, October 22, 2012

Several funnel clouds and/or brief tornadoes were viewed across portions of northern California yesterday afternoon and evening:

The photos above and below were all taken in the Yuba City area, to the North of the state capital of Sacramento (all via twitter, photographers unknown).   

The photos depict the "typical" California tornado and/or funnel cloud which tend to be relatively small and short lived.  The following photo was posted on the LA Times website yesterday, but it has been proven a fake, and actually depicts a tornado that took place in Australia in December of 2008:

For some reason, the LA Times is still featuring the above photo on the associated story on their website today, even after being proven to be fake.

Back to the real world version of yesterday's event, damage appears to have been limited to power lines, trees, lawn furniture and a few outbuildings in most cases:

photo via twitter, Matthew Keys

via KCBS

The National Weather Service (NWS) has confirmed that one tornado reached EF-1 intensity, causing damage at the Mallard Lake Golf Center just to the South of Yuba City.  It was reportedly on the ground for a rather lengthy (by California standards) 3.5 miles.  The tornado also caused shingle damage on nearby homes and damaged outbuildings in the area:

Tree Damage at Mallard Lake Golf Center

Tornadoes aren't all that uncommon in this part of the state, but the occurrence was a bit unusual for late October.

Damage surveys continue across the area, and we'll update this post with any emerging information as it becomes available.

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