Tornadoes in southern California - WTF?

[KitchenWitch]

:wtf:

Last night there was a tornado at Point Magoo (which is near Long Beach according to the talking heads).

We do not have basements here, ergo, we are not supposed to GET tornadoes here.

x(

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. But doesn't it make you feel like you're back home in Minnesota?

Except we have basements here.

[KitchenWitch]

2. Yes, Minnesota with earthquakes, wild fires and intolerable traffic jams.

:hi:

But on the good side, NO MOSQUITOES.

[Tektonik]

5. what's the biggest earthquake you've felt?

:o

socal hasn't had a big temblor in a while

there's been a couple big ones out in the deserts, but LA county hasn't had a big one since Northridge *knocks on wood*

[KitchenWitch]

12. about 3.6

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. It was -10 yesterday morning.

I bet you really miss that part.

[Tektonik]

7. It's been raining in socal for the past few days

It's been tragic :cry:

[KitchenWitch]

13. nope, not so much!

[Tektonik]

3. Southern California is being raptured

:cry:

[Jamastiene]

10. Hmm, maybe we should go to the "rapture ready" web sites

and see what they have to say. They always seem to know when it's time for the rapture and who's getting it. :P

[Oeditpus Rex]

4. Step AWAY from the television!

Pt. Mugu is a few miles southeast of Oxnard — a pretty fair jaunt from Long Beach.

[KitchenWitch]

14. LOL

Thanks!

[huskerlaw]

8. Technically

it was a water spout. ;)

[KitchenWitch]

16. But it was still a spinning vortex!

:hi:

[BrotherBuzz]

18. Was it at Pt. Mugu or off Pt. Mugu?

I've seen three or four waterspouts on the San Francisco Bay and one in the Gulf of the Farallones. Specular to watch from a distance. On the other hand, Tornadoes in the Sacramento Valley are becoming more common every year. I've seen the tails start working down, but they always seem to touch just over my horizon, which is fine with me and my trees.

[huskerlaw]

20. It took off a roof

so there was landfall, though I think just barely.

[havocmom]

22. That Naval Air Station has lots of prime beach front property

Probably pisses off local developers something awful!

[havocmom]

21. From the local paper, sounds like just off the beach then came ashore

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jan/25/small-tornado-strikes-point-mugu/

A waterspout came on shore as a weak tornado Thursday night and tore the roof off an empty air station hangar at the Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu, authorities said.

An air traffic controller at the base spotted the tornado about a quarter-mile away, said Bill Hoffer, a spokesman for the National Weather Service in Oxnard. The waterspout's vortex was reportedly almost horizontal as it was pushed on shore by gusting winds, he said.

The tornado touched down shortly after 7 p.m., ripping off the hangar's roof and scattering debris on the runway, according to CS3 Lester Brown, who works on the quartermaster's deck. No one was injured.

Hoffer said waterspouts have been forming periodically throughout this week's storms, and the National Weather Service has issued a special marine warning that any thunderstorm could produce a waterspout, gusty wind, high waves, lightning and heavy rain.

I spent hundreds of hours on the beaches around there, and yes, I did go out particularly on stormy days. Never saw a water spout. Did see a ship on it's side grounded from high winds. But never a water spout.

Sorry I missed this.

[Jamastiene]

9. Mother Nature doesn't look at it that way.

It's all random. Remember your bathtub if you don't have a basement. Your bathtub is your friend. They constantly find people in wet bathtubs, alive, after tornadoes.

It's really convenient too, if you think about it, because while you stick your head between your knees and kiss your ass goodbye and "lose it" while flying through the air on a magic bathtub ride, that hole keeps you from drowning.

I know, I know, this is a weird ass post coming from the person who has to work hard to "hold it" every time the wind blows hard. I promise I haven't been smoking or drinking anything tonight. :silly: :P

[KitchenWitch]

17. LOL

The only bathtub in this house is on the second story...Bathtub is out...

:crazy:

[havocmom]

23. Second floor bath tubs are great entertainment in earthquakes!

Second stories shimmy more than the ground floor. Trust me on this! :rofl:

[havocmom]

11. Not sure where Point Magoo is but Point Mugu is about 70 miles up the coast from Long Beach

just south of Oxnard.

Unless there has been one helluv an earthquake along with a tornado.... or it was SOME tornado.

There is a Naval Air Station at Pt. Mugu. There used to be a telemetry station for satellites there too, but I don't know if that is still in operation. Pretty spot. Definitely NOT know for tornado activity when I lived near there. WOW.

[KitchenWitch]

15. I spelled what I heard phonetically

since I am still VERY unfamiliar with where I am.

[havocmom]

19. LOL I understand! Some place names are Spanish, some Native American

Most spelled funny to us midwesterners! I pulled up a link to the Ventura paper online and enjoyed the storm slide show. There was a photo of someone in the cold rain in Port Hueneme. (Now there's a name for you ;) )

MN to Southern Cal? There's a change. You might get dizzy from it. I really love Ventura County. It has some amazing variety of geography. Grew up in Long Beach/Orange County. Lived in Ventura County for 10 years, back when there were still some lemon groves and farm fields.

[meow2u3]

24. Two words: global warming

That explains the extreme weather in places that don't typically get tornadoes, like California.

You know global warming is a reality when you see blizzards and tornadoes in Southern California, hurricanes in Canada, and the like.

[bridgit]

25. we're all the way in Fortuna, and heading up further still, it was crazy rain & wind...

all...day...today!! leaving for Oregon tomorrow, and back down through Shasta & Redding, not looking forward to it, glad hubby's a good driver

[question everything]

26. It is north of LA, closer to Oxnard

But, I remember a tornado on Jamboree Rd. (or was it Von Karman?) in 1994, I think.

[Mythsaje]

27. We get the occasional twister up here in the Pac NW...

I missed seeing a water spout some years back and a couple of years ago a tornado dropped out of the sky and took out a church fence.

We get one every few years, it seems. I don't know about S. Cali, but it surprised me that they happen so often up here.