27th December 2025 - (Los Angeles) U.S. forecasters briefly issued, then lifted, a tornado warning for parts of California on Friday, highlighting highly unstable atmospheric conditions as a series of powerful storms continued to lash the state with flooding, dangerous surf and heavy mountain snow. Authorities said the storm system, fuelled by an atmospheric river, has been responsible for at least four deaths and extensive damage since it began affecting the region last weekend.
The National Weather Service (NWS) office in San Francisco extended a Flood Watch until 10pm on Friday (0600 GMT Saturday) for sections of the Bay Area and Central Coast, cautioning that rapidly rising streams and localised inundation were likely. A High Surf Advisory was also in place through Friday night, with breaking waves forecast to reach roughly 7.6 metres.
The risk of tornadoes drew particular attention after the NWS issued, then cancelled, a tornado warning for Santa Cruz County on Christmas Day -- an exceptionally rare alert for that part of coastal California, local media noted.
Further south, rainfall totals in the Los Angeles area were described as highly unusual. Downtown Los Angeles recorded 6.6 centimetres of rain between Christmas Eve and midday on Christmas Day, making it the wettest 24-25 December period since 1971, according to the NWS.
In the Sierra Nevada, the same storm system delivered substantial snowfall. The Central Sierra Snow Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, reported around 60 centimetres of new snow within a 24‑hour window. High winds compounded the impact of the severe weather. At the historic Lick Observatory near San Jose, powerful gusts ripped away part of the dome housing a 137‑year‑old telescope, causing notable structural damage.
Power supply remained a major concern as utilities worked to keep pace with the storms. Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) said that more than 5,500 frontline employees and contractors had been assigned to storm‑response duties in anticipation of outages and infrastructure failures.
Meteorologists warned that the greatest threats continue to come from flash flooding, debris flows and mudslides, particularly across Southern California's steep hillsides and burn‑scarred terrain. Beyond California, winter storm warnings and hazardous travel conditions extended into neighbouring high‑elevation zones across the wider western United States, according to NWS offices responsible for the Sierra Nevada and the adjacent interior West.