Windstorms

High winds, particularly the hot, dry Santa Ana winds that visit Southern California, are another force of nature with which residents must deal.  High winds can cause structural and nonstructural damage, down power lines and increase the risk of wildfire.  The relative humidity can drop into the single digits further drying native and non native plants and grasses.  Santa Ana gusts in canyon areas can reach speeds of more than 100 mile per hour, compounding the threat.  Please click on the 'FIRE' link to help prepare for this wildfire threat.

Tornados

Tornadoes are nature’s most violent storms.  Spawned from powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes can cause fatalities and devastate a neighborhood in seconds.  A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour.  Damage paths can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long.  Every state is at some risk from this hazard.
The National Weather Service states that tormadoes usually occur along the coast during the cold of winter.  But they can occur during the summer thunderstorms as well.  Southern California averages about 20 tornados and/or water spouts per year.  Where ever you live, work or play, use the following information to help reduce your risk of death, injury and property losses from tornadoes.

What is the history of tornados where I live?

How can I protect myself from a tornado?
.  What to do Before, During & After a Tornado
.  Look for Tornado Facts and Know the Terms at the bottom of the Before Information

Landslides/Mudslides    Tornado/Windstorms    Heat Emergency    Cold Weather    Hazardous Materials    Terrorism