EF0 tornado in Santa Cruz County, California

Tornado December 22, 2012 · Santa Cruz County, California

EF0

Rating

1.1 mi

Path length

20 yd

Path width

$40K

Damage as recorded

$500K

Crop damage

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 20 yards (0.01 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF0 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 is light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 65–85 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

EF-0 tornado moved onshore from Monterey Bay into coastal Santa Cruz County in the early morning of December 22. The tornado caused tree damage and significant damage to commercial greenhouse structures at a large farm. Broken fiberglass panels and bent metal frame poles were observed at the greenhouse with debris thrown several dozen yards south of the damage path into adjacent fields. the tornado caused additional minor damage to 4 adjacent greenhouse structures. Debris was wrapped around electric poles south of the damage path. The greenhouse operators indicated that they lost 25 percent of their lisianthus flower crop, over 3,000 Gerbea crop, and 40,000 square feet of greenhouse space. Minor tree damage was observed along San Andreas Road nearby. Damage path was 1.07 miles and 20 yards wide. Damage consistent with an EF-0 tornado estimated at 75 MPH.

The wider storm

A series of storm systems, part of a large Atmospheric River type of pattern, impacted the area during late December 2012. From the 21st through 26th of December, heavy rain, gusty winds, flooding, and mudslides occurred across the Bay Area in these consecutive events. Downed trees, powerlines, and flooded roadways impacted residents over the Christmas holiday season. The event included a tornado touchdown on the coast of Santa Cruz County which brought extensive damage to portions of a greenhouse and flower growing operations. These storms followed a series of significant storms in late November and early December.

Began near Ellicott (36.8800, -121.8300).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 425184. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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