Remote Surveillance Trailer in Modesto, CA

A brief tornado touched down north of Modesto on Tuesday afternoon, the National Weather Service in Sacramento has confirmed.

A news release says the EF-0 twister struck 2 miles northeast of Salida at about 2:13 p.m. and was on the ground for 0.9 miles for two minutes. Its estimated maximum wind speed was 76 mph and its width was about 70 yards.

The weather service says the tornado moved through several orchards and three properties. Dozens of almond trees were uprooted.

“I was watching when suddenly there was a blast and my window exploded. Wind rushed in and I went to look outside. I saw my boat being whipped around and it crashed into my RV, and I looked up and the sky was filled with stuff flying all around. It was so loud.”

That’s the recollection of 81-year-old Walter Roger Cole, who was at his residence on the 2200 block of Kiernan Avenue when a funnel cloud touched down and caused damage to his and other adjacent properties. Though it happened on April Fool’s Day, the event was no laughing matter. “It was only a few minutes, but it was scary,” said Cole.

Walking around his property just north of Modesto, Cole assessed the damage, which included uprooted trees, broken tree limbs, torn-off pieces of metal, a damaged antenna and debris everywhere. In his side yard was half of the roof from the adjacent unoccupied property and torn-up roof pieces all over his lawn. Parts of the roof also landed on the grounds of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, which also suffered minor damage.

“Our shed is gone,” said church member Gary Wheeler. “It’s in pieces all over the place.” Wheeler and his wife, Victoria Caldwell, were on the grounds with other church volunteers cleaning up and assessing the damage. A part of the metal roof was peeled up but remained on the building, while pieces of trees and other items were scattered around.

Caldwell said she was in the area before the event and recalls seeing the weather get more aggressive as the sky darkened.

Modesto resident Ashley Munsinger captured the funnel cloud on her phone as she was picking up her children from school near Oakdale Road and Sylvan Avenue around 2:20 p.m. She posted the videos to her Facebook page and other Modesto incident pages.

Wild weather lasted most of the day in the region, with heavy rainfall and hail in some areas. California has averaged nine tornadoes a year, the weather service release said. They are rare in this region but tornado warnings have been issued in recent years and a few made landfall. Most recently in Oakdale, a tornado carried a horse stable from one pasture to another in January 2023.

This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 3:02 PM.

The Modesto Bee

Reporter Maria Luisa Figueroa is a Modesto native. She attended San Francisco State University.

Don’t put your rain coats in storage just yet, Modesto!

The Modesto area is expected to see some showers and cooler temperatures as March kicks off, the National Weather Service said. The wet weather could continue into the following week.

Scott Rowe, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office, said Sunday may be “showery.”

This weather system is coming from moisture in the north, so it is not expected to be as robust as storms fueled by atmospheric river systems in early February, Rowe said.

There is a chance of thunderstorms on Sunday across the Valley south of Sacramento, but Rowe said it was unclear as of Friday where thunder is most likely to appear.

“Thunderstorms require afternoon sunshine to get them bubbling and going, so we may not know (where thunderstorms could form) until the day of,” he said.

Here’s what you should know:

Active weather will return to the area beginning late Saturday night and continue into next week. Our first wave will bring rain showers, isolated thunderstorms (best chance on Sunday), and mountain snow. Here's the latest forecast rain and snow totals. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/zj6vQmf3rV

— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) February 28, 2025

Modesto was expected to be sunny on Friday, with a high temperature near 76 degrees and an low temperature around 48 degrees at night.

The Modesto area could see patchy fog before 8 a.m. on Saturday.

Otherwise, the day will be sunny, with a high near 72.

Rain could start rolling into the Modesto area on Saturday night, when the low will be around 49.

There’s a 30% chance of showers after 10 p.m. The weather service predicted “new precipitation amounts of less than a 10th of an inch.”

Sunday will see more showers, mainly after 10 a.m, when the chance of precipitation is 80%.

There’s a 50% chance of showers on Sunday night.

The high will be near 59, and the overnight low will be around 45.

On Monday, Modesto has a 20% chance of showers.

The day will be mostly sunny, with a high near 60 and a low around 43.

Tuesday is expected to be partly sunny, with a high near 61 and a low around 47.

There’s a “chance of showers” on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the weather service said.

Wednesday will have a high near 61 and an overnight low around 45, while the high on Thursday is expected to be near 63.

Modesto can expect the cool weather to last a bit longer, experts said.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center, most of California can expect below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation from March 8 through March 14.

What do you want to know about life in Modesto? Ask our service journalism team your top-of-mind questions in the module below or email servicejournalists@modbee.com.

The Sacramento Bee

Camila Pedrosa is a service journalism reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She previously worked as a summer reporting intern for The Bee and reported in Phoenix and Washington, D.C. She graduated from Arizona State University with a master’s degree in mass communication.

MODESTO – The National Weather Service said a tornado touched down in Stanislaus County Tuesday, knocking down dozens of trees and damaging three properties.

The NWS said the EF-0 tornado touched at 2:13 p.m. and traveled nearly a mile in two minutes with a width of 70 yards. A preliminary report estimated the peak winds were 76 mph.

No injuries were reported, however, the tornado caused almond trees in orchards to uproot.

It also damaged three properties. Officials recorded a covered patio and roof material ripped off, a broken window and said a large trailer was lifted and moved about 20 feet.

The Modesto Fire Department said it responded to a home along Kiernan Avenue, which is located just north of Modesto, for a report that a home was damaged from a possible tornado just after 3 p.m.

Crews said they found extensive damage to the home and that equipment had been displaced.

The NWS in Sacramento, along with the Stanislaus County Office of Emergency Services, responded to the area Wednesday to conduct a survey.

CBS Sacramento's weather team picked up strong thunderstorms in the area around 2:30 p.m. This storm produced small hail and lightning

The radar also showed signs of rotation but the storm was not placed under a tornado warning.

A funnel cloud was captured north of Modesto around 2:30 p.m.

Up north in the Yuba and Nevada counties area, a Tornado Warning was issued around 3 p.m.

California averages about nine tornados a year, most commonly in the Central Valley. They are usually weak tornados, rated EF-U to EF-1.

Brandon Downs

Brandon Downs is a digital content producer at CBS Sacramento.

Twitter

MODESTO – The City of Modesto continues its effort to bring professional soccer and a stadium to the city.

This comes after the city entered a letter of intent with the United Soccer League back in September.

The city says this stadium will cost between $125 and $150 million and they need to nail down a plan within the next six months.

"It was so good to hear from so many members of the public about their concerns, but also their enthusiasm for bringing soccer to Modesto," Mayor Sue Zwahlen said.

Modesto City Council narrowed down the location for a new soccer stadium to two locations: downtown north Modesto and west Modesto.

Downtown north Modesto would take the place of Centre Plaza, right next to the Double Tree Hotel.

The city says its central location could bring even more foot traffic to the area.

But it could displace existing businesses, increase traffic congestion and would force them to tear down Centre Plaza.

While west Modesto is mostly undeveloped land, the site could bring housing initiatives around the stadium and new services to an area of the city that's mostly underserved.

A resident pointed out the vacant golf course could go to additional housing where rental homes currently surround the area.

"Looking at the big picture for me means that this is a huge thing that could come to our city," Alexis Chavez said.

Chavez, a Modesto resident and soccer player, said the benefits of bringing a soccer league and stadium outweigh any negatives.

"Having a professional soccer team to Modesto would bring a lot of economic development give a sense of pride to our city and also bring a lot of tourism right here in Modesto," Chavez said.

Modesto's letter of intent with the United Soccer League expires this September.

The city hopes to formalize the plan by that date and will host another meeting to finalize a location sometime this summer.