Funnel cloud spotted in Riverside County

Amy Powell Image
Friday, March 24, 2023
Funnel cloud spotted in Riverside County
The funnel cloud spotted in Riverside County comes just one day after an EF-1 tornado touched down in Montebello.

NUEVO, Calif. (KABC) -- A funnel cloud was spotted in the Inland Empire just before sunset on Thursday.

The funnel cloud was seen around 6:20 p.m. over Nuevo in Riverside County. Time-lapse video showed it apparently did not reach the ground.

The unusual sight in the sky comes just one day after an EF-1 tornado touched down in Montebello in Los Angeles County. That twister damaged 17 buildings and left 11 of them red-tagged.

Wednesday's tornado in Montebello is the most powerful one to hit the L.A. area since 1983.

Tornadoes are more common in California than people may realize, but most of them are weaker and less destructive than the one that hit Montebello.

From 1951 to 2022, California saw 469 tornadoes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. L.A. County saw 45 of those.