LA County’s strongest tornado in 40 years hit winds of 110 miles per hour

The tornado that swept through Montebello for a few minutes on Wednesday recorded winds of 110 miles per hour, the strongest tornado to touch down in Los Angeles County since 1983, according to the National Weather Service.

The Montebello tornado – which cut a path nearly half a mile long – left 17 buildings damaged and 11 structures marked red, according to the National Weather Service and local officials. The tornado was 50 meters wide.

The tornado recorded an EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which measures weather events based on wind speed.

An EF1 tornado is any tornado that records winds between 86 and 110 mph and is considered a “weak” tornado. The most powerful tornadoes – with EF5 designations – have wind speeds in excess of 200 mph.

The last time a tornado struck at least one EF1 in Los Angeles County was just over 40 years ago on March 1, 1983, when an EF2 tornado ripped through a downtown residential area -south.

This tornado injured 25 people, mostly from flying glass, and destroyed 37 homes and severely damaged more than 100 others. Wednesday’s tornado injured only one person.

On Tuesday, the town of Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County was also hit by a tornado – much less severe than the Montebello tornado.

The tornado that hit the coastal town had winds of just 75 mph, though they were enough to damage 25 mobile homes in Sandpiper Village as well as surrounding trees. One person was injured in the Carpinteria tornado.