Thunderstorm brings funnel clouds, tornado warnings to Central California
Funnel clouds formed just before a tornado warning went into effect in Merced County.
MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Funnel clouds were spotted in Merced County on Monday as thunderstorms moved through Central California.
Around 2:30 p.m., an Action News camera captured a funnel cloud northeast of Atwater.
About ten minutes later, the funnel cloud continued to swirl near Vine and Almond as the sky darkened around it.
Tornado Warnings and Other Alerts Triggered By Thunderstorms
As the storm continued, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Merced, Mariposa, and Tuolumne counties.
The tornado warning was in place for all impacted counties until 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Later in the evening, a separate tornado warning was issued for Mariposa, Merced, and Tuolumne counties.
That warning is set to expire at 5:45 p.m.
A Special Weather Statement was also issued until 4 p.m. for a thunderstorm in Kings County and the west side of Fresno County.
The storm has the possibility of 40 miles per hour winds and pea-sized hail.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was put in place around 5:30 p.m. for Tulare County.
The storm has the potential to bring winds up to 60 miles per hour and quarter-size hail.
Wet Weather Continues across Central California
These latest thunderstorms come after back-to-back systems moved through Central California last week.
On Thursday, a winter storm brought snow to low elevations in Fresno County, causing students to be excused early from school in Tollhouse.
Continued snowy conditions prompted schools to be shut down in Madera County the following day.
The weekend brought a break in the wet weather until the rain began again on Monday morning.
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