The National Weather Service was investigating the possibility that a tornado was responsible for ripping the roof off a building in Montebello Wednesday morning.
It capped a period of wild weather in California that brought high winds and warnings of tornadoes and waterspouts.
Video sent to television station KTLA showed a dark funnel-shaped cloud forming over the Montebello area, while footage from the station’s own news helicopter showed the roof of the structure on South Vail Street with gaping holes, with beams and the interior of the building open to the elements.
Debris was scattered around the scene, and several other buildings were visibly damaged.
“I’ve seen the videos, so it’s definitely possible for a weak tornado to hit there,” said Kristen Stewart, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
The weather service is sending a survey team to Montebello to examine the scene and determine if a tornado touched down, Stewart said. The agency is also investigating a similar weather event that caused damage in Carpinteria.
The weather event can also be determined to be a groundspout, which is simply a weaker tornado formed by slightly different conditions than the powerful tornadoes seen in the Midwest, Stewart explained.
“We don’t have that kind of environment that they have on the Plains,” Stewart said.
