Tornado Hits Los Angeles County on March 22, 2023; Southern California’s Tornado Alley Detailed Discussion

Photo bySouthern California Weather Force

A tornado hit Los Angeles County later in the morning on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.  This happened within what is one of a few zones called Southern California’s Tornado Alley that many do not know about so read on for details …

Southern California Weather Force rotation detection radar indicates this tornado happened between Montebello and Commerce, just east of Interstate 5 in an industrial district as noted by the red area in the article image provided.  This tornado was short-lived and moved from there and weakened over the Hilton Garden Inn Los Angeles and Golf Course just before Interstate 60.

Southern California Weather Force official estimation is that the track was between 2-4 miles long, which is impressive for this region.

The area this hit is known for tornadoes, whether it may not seem so or not.  The coast and basin of Los Angeles and Orange County have had the most tornadoes out of California since records began in the 1850s.  The reason is due to the topography, which acts like a shear zone.  Out in tornado alley, east of the Rockies, the land is flat.  This means that topography does not play a role in the development of tornadoes and that the atmosphere’s convergence zones have to do all the work.  Because we have terrain here, convergence zones are everywhere.

The most prominent convergence zones is the LA/OC Coast/Basin zone where this happened.  The Elsinore Convergence Zone in the Inland Empire.  A convergence zone near Point Mugu in Ventura County.  An EL Mirage and Johnson Valley Convergence Zone arc in the High Desert.  Convergence zones are like fault lines.  We have larger ones and smaller ones.  Each has a strength value to produce what happens during setups like this.

It is worth to note that 5 hours prior, here at Southern California Weather Force, a Weather Advisory was issued for funnel clouds to small tornadoes, along with hail, thunder, and heavy rainfall.  This is not too uncommon for warmer months due to the sun angle, creating warmer low-level conditions.  The link to that issued advisory was here – Weather Advisory Issued for Metro Southern California Today Through Tonight With Thunder and Hail Dynamics – Southern California Weather Force

LONG RANGE:  More storm systems are coming to the region so this article will help you understand that – Long Range Weather Advisory Issued for Another Storm System into Southern California During Week of March 27th – Southern California Weather Force

You may view the video of this tornado on my TikTok account – https://www.tiktok.com/@weathergeneral/video/7213465493615742250?lang=en

Join the Facebook Page for Further Updates If You Have Not Yet!
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WEATHER FORCE MAIN:

Southern California Weather Force Twitter – CLICK HERE

- Raiden Storm -

Master General Meteorologist – is a consulting meteorologist for over 50 companies, including energy, agriculture, aviation, marine, leisure, and many more areas. He has certs from Mississippi State for broadcast met and Penn State forecasting certs MET 101, 241, 341 and 361 as a meteorologist, but before then was completely self-taught, barely learning a thing from the schools that he did not already know.

Both short and long-range is very important to know in those jobs so you can bet on accuracy here. He is versed in fields like Western USA, Tornadoes, Floods, Hurricanes, High Winds, Fire Behavior, Snow and Blizzards, Short Range, Long Range, Seasonal, and Life-Threatening decisions with over 25 years' experience, out forecasting all weather services available today with lead-time and precision, which makes him a focus of ridicule and envy.

NOTE: Alerts are posted on here, be it a tornado watch, etc, and these alerts are issued from this office and nowhere else. At times, which is often, you will see an alert forecast posted on here that you do not see elsewhere.