'Absolutely rare' tornado tears through California town

When a tornado hit the central California town of Denair on Sunday afternoon, the 911 calls came flooding in, with residents reporting funnel clouds touching down.

"This is absolutely rare for Stanislaus County," Sgt. Anthony Bejaran told CBS Sacramento. Across town, trees were uprooted, glass was blown out of windows, and shingles came off the roof of a local church. Resident Sabina Woodard said the tornado was so bad she was "waiting for the house to lift up and go with us in it." She took cover with her husband after spotting the funnel cloud outside, and saw "things fly in the house. Everything was in slow motion." Her barn was destroyed, and garage detached.

Adrienne Bayless told CBS Sacramento the funnel was narrow, "but the debris around it was big. There were sheets of metal flying high in the air." No one in Denair was injured, and crews are working to restore the town's power. Catherine Garcia

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

YouTube

Watch On