Possible tornado reported in Montebello; several buildings damaged

A strong microburst — which some witnesses dubbed a possible tornado — heavily damaged several buildings in Montebello today, with video from the scene showing portions of rooftops being ripped off industrial structures and debris swirling in the air.

um tornado in south montebello @ABC7 @KTLA pic.twitter.com/houu2nW1zn

— Daniel (@djavim) March 22, 2023

The National Weather Service on Tuesday night issued a brief tornado warning in southwestern Los Angeles County, but it was allowed to expire after about 15 minutes when weather conditions eased.

There was no such warning in place late Wednesday morning when the powerful winds hit Montebello, near the area of Washington Boulevard and Vail Avenue.

The National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office, based in Oxnard, confirmed early Wednesday afternoon that it will be sending a “survey team” to Montebello to assess the damage in response to “reports of possible tornado damage.”

The NWS earlier dispatched such a team to the Carpinteria area, which suffered damage Tuesday evening that could have been the result of a small tornado or landspout.

There were no immediate reports of injuries in Montebello. Cell phone video from the area showed portions of rooftops being ripped away in Montebello, and other debris swirling in an circular pattern in the air. Another video showed a funnel-like cloud forming above the area as rooftops are ripped away.

Additional video from the aftermath showed multiple vehicles in the parking lot of an affected building with heavy damage, including shattered windows and body damage from flying debris. Some vehicles appeared to have rear bumpers ripped away.