201912.26
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Tornado warning jolts OC residents during winter storm

by in News

A tornado warning took many Orange County residents by surprise early Thursday soon after it was received during the night’s winter storm.

It jolted people awake just as the cold storm blew through Southern California, bringing with it pounding rain.

For many, the emergency alert from the National Weather Service was received shortly after midnight on their cell phones, stating: “TORNADO WARNING,” then “Take shelter now.” The warning was seen in parts of Garden Grove, North Tustin, Orange, Santa Ana, Irvine, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.

That warning was short-lived, as the alert was canceled about 10 minutes later.

“The Tornado Warning for Orange County has been CANCELED. The storm has weakened and no longer poses a tornado threat,” the National Weather Service wrote on social media.

Tornado warnings are pretty rare in this area, said National Weather Service meteorologist Adam Roser.

“For just a short time, there looked like there was a little spin in the atmosphere,” Roser said. But that quickly dissipated, causing the warning to be lifted.

But the outcry from bemused Orange County residents unaccustomed to tornado weather was prevalent on social media.

“Talk about total confusion, awaken(ed) by #tornadowarning then trying to figure out where to take shelter. My disaster reaction is programmed for earthquakes not #tornado,” one person wrote on Twitter later that morning.

Another pondered: “Who’s gonna tell the emergency alert system we don’t have basements in Southern California? #tornadowarning.”

No major damage was reported in Orange County during the fast-moving storm, which dropped 2 1/2 inches on Garden Grove and Huntington Beach, and NWS forecaster Roser said the worst had mostly passed.

“The rest of today and into tonight, there will be some scattered showers,” he said. “It’ll be kind of cloudy … but clearing up for the weekend.”