Between approximately 5:18 pm and 5:21 pm local time on Friday January 3, 2025, a trained spotter and area ALERTCalifornia PG&E webcam footage showed a brief tornado about 8 miles northeast of Dairyville in an unpopulated, barren area of Tehama County. All evidence including radar was viewed and evaluated in coordination with the Tehama County Sheriff / Office of Emergency Services.
Meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Sacramento made the determination based on video evidence that a brief tornado touched down from approximately 5:18 pm until 5:21pm. Based upon the fact that there has been no damage or injury reports received as a result of this tornado and there is no evidence that it impacted any structures from the video, there will not be a damage survey team sent to the area – as there is no damage to survey.
The preliminary determination is that this was an EF-U (unknown) tornado that touched down for approximately 3 minutes with a path length of approximately 0.8 miles and unknown peak wind.
What is an EF-U ranking?
An EF-U rating indicates that a tornado is given a rating of unknown strength. This is because tornadoes are rated based on the damage that they cause. If no damage is caused by a tornado, then it cannot be assigned a rating, and the rating of EF-U is used. This is the preliminary rating. If additional damage reports are received, further evaluation will take place.
What was detected on radar? Was there a tornado warning in effect?
The radar at the time indicated a storm cell with weak rotation present. This is not uncommon and the vast majority of weakly rotating storms do not produce a tornado. Based on webcam footage and rotation on radar, a tornado warning was issued at 5:22 pm.
Was this the first tornado reported in 2025?
Preliminary reports suggest this in the first tornado confirmed in the United States in 2025. Official national storm data will not be finalized until February.
Are tornadoes rare in California?
California actually averages 9 tornadoes a year. Most are weak, rated EF-U to EF-1, and occur in the Central Valley.
- Event: January 3, 2025 Tornado
- Location: 8 miles NE of Dairyville in Tehama County, California
- Time: 5:18 – 5:21 PM PST
- Rating: EF-U
- Peak Wind: Unknown