Bay Area saw damaging winds nearing 100 mph this week, NWS confirms

(KRON) — As heavy rain battered the Bay Area on Monday, one location on the San Mateo County coastline suffered storm damage from winds reaching nearly 100 miles per hour, the National Weather Service confirmed Thursday. A survey team was sent to the area this week to investigate if a tornado had formed over the region.

NWS surveyors were investigating damaged property on a patch of land just south of Año Nuevo State Park in Pescadero. According to weather data, peak thunderstorm wind speeds were estimated to be 95 miles per hour during the wind event that lasted between 4:23 p.m. and 4:32 p.m.

Damage from the wind stretched from the coast to about three-quarters of a mile inland. Some of the property damage noted in NWS’s report included “a hoop house visqueen cover being torn off, structural damage to two hoop houses, a large water storage tank being transported over a 1/4 mile, and moderately large diameter coastal cypress trees being snapped.”

NWS officials concluded from their survey that the damage found was consistent with straight-line winds. There was no indication of damage from tornado activity.

Straight-line winds, as the name implies, are thunderstorm winds that have no rotation, according to weather officials. Damage from this type of wind event is much more common than damage from tornadoes. Straight-line winds can be confused for tornadoes due to their loud roaring sound as winds surpass 75 miles per hour and the extensive damage they can potentially cause.

In December 2024, a confirmed tornado in nearby Scotts Valley downed power poles, overturned vehicles and injured at least five people.