Posted May 23, 2008, 7:56 AM.Thursday afternoon and evening's severe thunderstorm over Western Riverside County reportedly spawned several funnel clouds, which touched down in Perris, Moreno Valley, and near Lake Elsinore. Lightning and hail accompanied the storm as flash flooding occurred in many communities in the county. One of the tornados flipped a big rig on Interstate 215 and some railroad cars in Perris near Oleander Avenue. "I saw three tornados touch down near March Air Reserve Base", said Mike Box of Moreno Valley, commenting on his drive home. "We're having lightning every two minutes." More damage was reported near Kuder Ave. in Perris. "Tornado just missed my house and hit a trailer two houses away," said Tammy Magana. The tornado moved the trailer about three feet and ripped off its roof. The tornado near Lake Elsinore was reported in the 8pm hour. There were no immediate reports of damage. Thursday afternoon's events began with the National Weather Service issuing a severe thunderstorm warning around 3:40pm, followed by a tornado warning shortly after. The Interstate 215 tornado hit around 4:45pm. Nancy Hobert of Hemet reported seeing one of the tornados form above the San Jacinto Valley at around 4:30pm. Rainfall there forced the closure of the National Orange Show. Another thunderstorm began dumping hail around noontime in the Temecula Valley and Fallbrook. Almost an inch of rain was received in only a few minutes, causing brief flooding. Thunder, lightning and hail were also reported in Sun City, Hemet, San Jacinto and Riverside. Mike Box, Sherri from Lake Elsinore, Nancy Kobert, Tammy Magana and Harold Roosa contributed to this report. Hail and storm photos are courtesy of John Lenz, Dave Corrasa, G. Webb, and Dan Mueller. |
Other Recent Weather News for Hemet, California
|