Tornado near Atwater tossed sheet metal, caused no injuries, weather service says
A tornado that touched down west of Atwater this week caused minor damage, tossing sheet metal into a field and onto a power pole, according to the National Weather Service.
The tornado struck about 3 miles west of Atwater in Merced County around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday and was rated an EF-1, with estimated peak winds of 110 mph, the NWS Hanford office said in a damage survey released Wednesday.
Survey teams found debris — including sheet metal — scattered in a field and wrapped around a power pole, though the pole itself was not damaged and no power outages were reported, meteorologist Brandolyn Baeza said.
No injuries or major structural damage were reported.
The Atwater-area tornado traveled about half a mile and reached a maximum width of 150 yards, according to the weather service.
Two other tornadoes were confirmed the same day in Fresno County:
- An EF-0 tornado near Biola with peak winds of about 70 mph
- An EF-1 tornado northeast of Clovis with peak winds of about 95 mph
No injuries were reported in any of the three incidents.
The tornadoes occurred between about 2:10 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. as a storm system moved through the Central Valley. The weather service said the findings are preliminary and could be updated.
