Name: Tornado in California, April 22, 2016
Start: 2016-04-22T16:00
End: 2016-04-22T16:01
Location: California

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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
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 MTR wrote it up.

Greenfield spin-up Classified as an EF0 Tornado

A weak non-supercell EF0 tornado occurred Friday April 22, 2016 at around 4 pm associated with a line of showers along the leading edge of a cold front. Due to its non-supercell status, it will be referred to as a landspout, but is in the family of tornados.

Friday evening, 22 April, the Monterey WFO WCM was informed by a local TV meteorologist of a video posted to facebook showing a possible tornado or dust devil. The video was posted by and on the KRKC, Greenfield radio station, facebook page. Through the course of the evening of the 22nd and morning of the 23rd, the MTR WCM and WFO staff continued investigation through following up with the reporting TV meteorologist and reaching out to KRKC via facebook and email. By Saturday morning the 23rd the address and point of contact at the storm location was obtained and a storm survey was initiated.

The WFO MTR WCM was dispatched Saturday morning to perform a storm survey. The storm survey was done through the use of the Damage Assessment Toolkit (DAT) on the office iPad. Interviews were also conducted of eyewitnesses as part of the survey.|The visual survey was done with the help of an eyewitness who described where the landspout began, the path it took, damage it inflicted, and provided the visual confirmation of rotation. According to multiple accounts, the landspout began on the hillside NW of a small farm community, laying nearly flat a broad oak tree. As the landspout moved down the hill it likely went through a period of vortex stretching, allowing it to tighten up and spin a bit faster. Eyewitnesses say the landspout moved down off the hill and toward several small houses. It displaced two normal sized steel dumpsters about 30 yards in the direction of its travel. Along this flat land portion of the path the landspout encountered two oak trees, tearing off several large branches (3in diameter) and depositing them 20-30 yards away in a downpath direction. Damage assessment indicates the landspout weakened significantly while passing over several small housing structures and brushing by a barn. Once past these structures it encountered another downhill slope and re-intensified. The landspout then encountered a pole barn with a small to moderate size trailer parked beneath. There were no visible signs of damage to the trailer, but the pole barn showed significant roof damage. It is estimated that about half of the roof from the pole barn was damaged or torn off with this debris strewn about the area. Rotation is easily confirmed due to debris locations. Parts of the roof were thrown orthogonally to the right of the direction of movement, as far as 40 to 50 yards. Other portions of the roof were lifted up, taken with the landspout and scattered across a neighboring vineyard. The farthest deposit away from the pole barn is estimated at about 60 to 80 yards, along the landspout path to the southeast. Eyewitness video posted on KRKC facebook page shows the landspout at the far edge of the vineyard and entering a rapid dissipation phase.

Eyewitness accounts also included the following:| No significant winds outside of the landspout| Ears popping as the landspout passed| A palette spinning in the air in the landspout’s early phase|o No palette was found and no damage from the palette was reported| Thunder was heard in the area preceding the landspout| Brief intense heavy rain followed the landspout| One person reported two distinct circulations; one that descended from the cloud base and another that followed which spun up off the ground

Atmospheric and observation conditions included:| Occurred along the leading edge of a passing cold front| Cloud bases were estimated from eyewitness video to be around 5kft| Radar showed showers in the area| Lowest angle of radar beam was at about 9-10kft over the area| Appears to be a case of low topped convection which is normal for the immediate west coast| Wind data in the area did not show significant speeds.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS San Francisco Bay Area, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 22, 1:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 22, 1:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
230 PM PDT FRI APR 22 2016

.SYNOPSIS....A FEW SHOWERS WILL LINGER INTO THE EVENING HOURS
BEFORE DRIER CONDITIONS DEVELOP TONIGHT. DRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED
ALONG WITH SEASONABLY COOL TEMPERATURES THIS WEEKEND. A LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEM DROPPING INTO THE INTERIOR WILL BRING A SLIGHT
CHANCE OF SHOWERS FOR THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...AS OF 02:50 PM PDT FRIDAY...IN THE NEAR TERM ACTIVE
WEATHER CONTINUES AS A COLD FRONT CONTINUES TO THE MOVE THROUGH
THE REGION. THE FRONTAL PASSAGE THIS AFTERNOON BROUGHT MODERATE TO
LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN SHOWERS TO PORTION OF THE BAY AREA. THERE ARE
SOME DECENT SIX HOUR RAINFALL TOTALS...OVER ONE INCH NEAR PALO
ALTO AND SAN MATEO. OTHER HIGH SPOTS INCLUDE PORTIONS OF THE BIG
SUR COAST...UP TO ONE INCH AND MANY OTHER LOCATIONS ONE HALF INCH
TO THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH. NOT A DROUGHT BUSTER...BUT MUCH
NEEDED RAINFALL NON THE LESS. THERE WAS EVEN ONE REPORT OF SMALL
HAIL NEAR HEALDSBURG.

THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING...SHOWERS WILL STILL BE POSSIBLE
WITH THE GREATEST LIKELIHOOD FROM SAN JOSE SOUTH. HAVE NOT
RECEIVED ANY REPORTS OF THUNDER OR NOTICED LIGHTNING ON THE
DETECTION NETWORK...BUT GIVEN DAYTIME HEATING AND UNSTABLE
AIRMASS WILL KEEP THE MENTION OF THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH LATE THIS
AFTERNOON. BY LATE THIS EVENING...EXPECT PRECIP CHANCES TO
DIMINISH RATHER QUICKLY...ESPECIALLY POST SUNSET. LATEST HRRR
MODEL CONCURS AND SHOWS LITTLE IN THE WAY OF PRECIP AFTER 03Z.

FOR THE UPCOMING WEEKEND...DRY CONDITIONS DEVELOP AS RIDGING
OCCURS OVER THE REGION. THE RIDGE WEAKENS BY SUNDAY AS ANOTHER
LOW PRESSURE MOVES INTO INTERIOR CALIFORNIA. ANY RAIN LOOKS TO
REMAIN NORTH AND EAST OF THE BAY AREA AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER...ONE
IMPACT FOR THE BAY AREA WILL BE THE WINDS. NORTHERLY WINDS WILL
INCREASE 15 TO 25 MPH WITH STRONGER GUSTS OVER 30 MPH. AT THIS
TIME IT IS BORDERLINE FOR A WIND ADVISORY.

THE 12Z MODEL GUIDANCE STILL SHOWS LOTS OF UNCERTAINTY FOR THE
MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK REGARDING RAIN CHANCES. MEDIUM RANGE MODELS
STILL INDICATE A SPREAD IN SOLUTIONS...BUT AT LEAST THEY ALL SHOW
A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING OVER THE REGION. THE DETAILS ON THE
THE OTHER HAND VARY. GIVEN THE LOW CONFIDENCE WILL CONTINUE WITH A
SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS.

&&

.AVIATION...AS OF 10:45 AM PDT FRIDAY...CURRENTLY TRYING TO TIME
THE RAIN ACROSS THE VARIOUS TERMINALS. EARLY RUNS OF THE HRRR DID
NOT INITIALIZE WELL SO USING IT WITH SOME CAUTION FOR THE LATEST
PACKAGE. IN GENERAL LOOK FOR MVFR TO VFR CIGS WITH RAIN SHUTTING
OFF NORTH TO SOUTH STARTING AROUND 0Z...OR POSSIBLY A BIT EARLIER.
WILL BE KEEPING A CLOSE EYE ON RADAR AND LIGHTNING PRODUCT AS
HEATING DURING THE DAY COULD TRIGGER A FEW THUNDERSTORMS. WINDS
FORECAST TO BECOME MORE 260 TO 290 LATER IN THE DAY BEHIND THE
COLD FRONT. RETURN TO VFR FOR TOMORROW. MODERATE CONFIDENCE.

VICINITY OF KSFO...-SHRA EXPECTED AT LAST THROUGH 0Z AND POSSIBLY
AN HOUR OR TWO LONGER. CIGS GENERALLY WILL STAY AT OR ABOVE 030
THROUGH THE PERIOD. WINDS FROM 220 TO 240 WILL REMAIN OVER 20 KT
WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO 30 KT. WINDS AROUND 220 BECOME MORE 260
TO 280 AROUND 02Z. IMPROVING CONDITIONS AFTER 09Z WITH VFR
FORECAST FOR TOMORROW. MODERATE CONFIDENCE.

SFO BRIDGE APPROACH...SIMILAR TO KSFO.

MONTEREY BAY TERMINALS...-SHRA FORECAST TO RETURN AROUND 19Z WITH
POTENTIAL FOR SHRA OR EVEN +SHRA ALONG WITH MVFR CIGS. SHOWERS
END AFTER 03Z WITH VFR FORECAST BEYOND THAT POINT. WINDS FORECAST
TO BECOME MORE 230 TO 260 WITH SPEEDS OVER 12 KT LATER IN THE
AFTERNOON. MODERATE CONFIDENCE.

&&

.MARINE...AS OF 01:57 PM PDT FRIDAY...NORTHWESTERLY WINDS BEHIND A
DEPARTING COLD FRONT WILL SLOWLY DIMINISH TONIGHT. A SECOND COLD
FRONT WILL DROP THROUGH THE WATERS WITH INCREASING NW WIND AND
SEAS SUNDAY THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. GALE FORCE WINDS ARE POSSIBLE
FOR SUNDAY NIGHT IN OUR OUTER WATERS.

&&

.MTR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
     .TNGT...SCA...SF BAY UNTIL 9 PM
             SCA...PT ARENA TO PT REYES 0-10 NM UNTIL 9 PM
             SCA...PT REYES TO PIGEON PT 0-10 NM UNTIL 9 PM
             SCA...PT ARENA TO PIGEON PT 10-60 NM UNTIL 9 PM

&&

PUBLIC FORECAST: MM
AVIATION: BELL
MARINE: BELL

VISIT US AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SANFRANCISCO

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER AT:
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NWSBAYAREA
WWW.TWITTER.COM/NWSBAYAREA

The radar

The San Francisco radar (KMUX), 108 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:01 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Monterey

When: April 22, 4:00 PM PST to 4:01 PM PST
Where: Monterey County, 3.75 mi ESE of Paraiso Spgs to 3.98 mi ESE of Paraiso Spgs
Rating: EF0
Path length: 0.24 mi
Path width: 15 yd
Reported by: Social Media
Coordinates: 36.301, -121.313

A weak non-supercell EF0 tornado occurred Friday April 22, 2016 at around 4 pm associated with a line of showers along the leading edge of a cold front. Due to its non-supercell status, it will be referred to as a landspout, but is in the family of tornados.

Friday evening, 22 April, the Monterey WFO WCM was informed by a local TV meteorologist of a video posted to facebook showing a possible tornado or dust devil. The video was posted by and on the KRKC, Greenfield radio station, facebook page. Through the course of the evening of the 22nd and morning of the 23rd, the MTR WCM and WFO staff continued investigation through following up with the reporting TV meteorologist and reaching out to KRKC via facebook and email. By Saturday morning the 23rd the address and point of contact at the storm location was obtained and a storm survey was initiated.

The WFO MTR WCM was dispatched Saturday morning to perform a storm survey. The storm survey was done through the use of the Damage Assessment Toolkit (DAT) on the office iPad. Interviews were also conducted of eyewitnesses as part of the survey.|The visual survey was done with the help of an eyewitness who described where the landspout began, the path it took, damage it inflicted, and provided the visual confirmation of rotation. According to multiple accounts, the landspout began on the hillside NW of a small farm community, laying nearly flat a broad oak tree. As the landspout moved down the hill it likely went through a period of vortex stretching, allowing it to tighten up and spin a bit faster. Eyewitnesses say the landspout moved down off the hill and toward several small houses. It displaced two normal sized steel dumpsters about 30 yards in the direction of its travel. Along this flat land portion of the path the landspout encountered two oak trees, tearing off several large branches (3in diameter) and depositing them 20-30 yards away in a downpath direction. Damage assessment indicates the landspout weakened significantly while passing over several small housing structures and brushing by a barn. Once past these structures it encountered another downhill slope and re-intensified. The landspout then encountered a pole barn with a small to moderate size trailer parked beneath. There were no visible signs of damage to the trailer, but the pole barn showed significant roof damage. It is estimated that about half of the roof from the pole barn was damaged or torn off with this debris strewn about the area. Rotation is easily confirmed due to debris locations. Parts of the roof were thrown orthogonally to the right of the direction of movement, as far as 40 to 50 yards. Other portions of the roof were lifted up, taken with the landspout and scattered across a neighboring vineyard. The farthest deposit away from the pole barn is estimated at about 60 to 80 yards, along the landspout path to the southeast. Eyewitness video posted on KRKC facebook page shows the landspout at the far edge of the vineyard and entering a rapid dissipation phase.

Eyewitness accounts also included the following:.|No significant winds outside of the landspout.|Ears popping as the landspout passed.|A palette spinning in the air in the landspout’s early phase.|No palette was found and no damage from the palette was reported.|Thunder was heard in the area preceding the landspout.|Brief intense heavy rain followed the landspout.|One person reported two distinct circulations; one that descended from the cloud base and another that followed which spun up off the ground.

Atmospheric and observation conditions included:.|Occurred along the leading edge of a passing cold front.|Cloud bases were estimated from eyewitness video to be around 5kft.|Radar showed showers in the area.|Lowest angle of radar beam was at about 9-10kft over the area.|Appears to be a case of low topped convection which is normal for the immediate west coast.|Wind data in the area did not show significant speeds.

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

More

Every storm in California in 2016 Every state in 2016 This day in weather history The tornado archive for California, 2016 Warnings in California, April 2016

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 634101.