Tornado, San Diego
- When
- October 17, 6:08 AM PST to 6:10 AM PST
- Where
- San Diego County, Oceanside
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 33.200, -117.383
Tornado in California, October 17, 2004
A cutoff low that sat off the coast for a week eventually made its way back to Southern California, and brought the first measureable rain to the coast in over 182 days. 00 in the mountains.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS SGX wrote it up.
A cutoff low that sat off the coast for a week eventually made its way back to Southern California, and brought the first measureable rain to the coast in over 182 days. Rainfall amounts were generally from 0.10 at the far southwestern beaches, up to 0.50 inland, and over 1.00 in the mountains. A waterspout came ashore in Oceanside and caused minor damage to structures, blew over some trees, and broke a few windows. The roof of an elementary school was partially torn off by the strong winds. The whole event was brief and the tornado dissapated when it reached Pacific Coast Highway. Another funnel cloud was spotted that afternoon south of Carlsbad near Moon Beach.
The radar
The San Diego radar (KNKX), 45 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:10 UTC.
Event by event
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Damaging Wind in Washington, October 17, 2004
- High Wind in Oregon, October 17, 2004
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in California, October 17 to 18, 2004
- Heavy Snow in California, October 17, 2004
- Hail in Missouri, October 17, 2004
- Waterspout in Gulf of Mexico, October 17, 2004
- Funnel Cloud in California, October 17, 2004
- Tornado in Colorado, October 17, 2004
- Damaging Wind in Washington, October 17, 2004
- High Wind in Montana, October 17 to 21, 2004
- High Wind in Nevada, October 17, 2004
- High Wind in Nevada, October 17, 2004
More
Every storm in California in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for California, 2004Warnings in California, October 2004
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5427069.