Major Intense Storm Cell Hits LB In Noon-Hour Tues Jan.19, Prompts Tornado Warning From Nat'l Weather Service For About 40 Minutes; Thunder & Major Downpour; Some Street Flooding Reported; Some People Stuck In Cars
(Jan. 19, 2010, updating) -- As LBReport.com readers saw on our front page -- www.lbreport.com -- and we advised our email subscribers and Facebook and Twitter followers about an hour in advance -- a major, intense storm cell came onshore in the noon hour.
Photos from various parts of city coming in just minutes.
That prompted a Tornado Warning from the Nat'l Weather Service affecting LB and south-central L.A. County, issued at 12:36 p.m. and lasting until 1:15 p.m.
Here's what LBReport.com readers saw on our front page from NWS Doppler Radar as it happened at 12:52 p.m.
Source: NWS Doppler Radar as seen on LBReport.com
And here's the now-expired text LBReport.com ran in large red letters (at the time, reduced in size below):
[Reproduced] TORNADO WARNING
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OXNARD CA
1236 PM PST TUE JAN 19 2010
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OXNARD HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR...SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA...THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF LONG BEACH...* UNTIL 115 PM PST
The Tornado Warning expired at 1:15 p.m...but the rain downpour left areas of street flooding reported in multiple parts of the city.
Some people were reported stuck in cars in the Belmont Shore area...and other areas as well....with one person sitting on a car roof waiting for the waters to recede. Street flooding was reported in various parts of the city with water about to enter buildings in some scattered areas.
[updated] 710 freeway flooded between 405 into PCH and Willow areas; some carts stuck/stranded.
In Sunset Beach area, small tornado touched down, flipping over a car, uprooting trees. [end update]
Thunder was heard in ELB accompanied by VERY heavy rain and strong winds.
The rain downpour subsided in ELB at about 1:20 p.m. LBReport.com is receiving photos from multiple parts of town, thank you...We'll have them up shortly.
Let us know what you heard, saw, and if you have photos, email them to mail@lbreport.com (and let us know if you'd like us to use your name).