ALPINE, Calif. (KGTV) - A day later, a family is recounting a harrowing weather event with ‘tornado-like’ winds that sent debris circling their home.
When the winds visited his Alpine home on Wednesday morning, college student Tomas Reynoso was headed to a class. He got a call from his mom.
“She screamed, ‘The house just got hit by a tornado!’” said Reynoso.
Earlier, Reynoso says his mother was in her bedroom, looking out the window when the powerful winds blew in.
“It sounded like a freight train outside,” said Reynoso.
Reynoso says his mother saw buckets and other debris from from neighbor's yards, picked up and swirl, in circular fashion.
“All she could see is something quickly go flying past the window. A few seconds later, the exact same item coming back around a second time. Another time, a third time. I think she mentioned a 4th or 5th,” said Reynoso.
It lasted a few minutes, leaving behind a mess.
A patio tarp was shredded tarp. The metal legs for the tarp were bent, the bolts securing it were nearly ripped off.
A heavy patio umbrella was tossed about 15 feet, and a heavy grill was flipped about 5 feet.
So what exactly did this?
It wasn't a tornado, but it was a powerful weather event. On the Nextdoor app, other residents in the area also reported seeing 'circular winds' that morning.
“We saw a cluster of lighting strikes that morning, move eastward. Gusts exceeded close to 40, 45 mph,” said ABC 10News meteorologist Vanessa Paz.
Vanessa says during thunderstorms, a downdraft of air can lead to a microburst, which can produce erratic winds.
“It’s a pattern of intense winds that drop vertically, and they fan out horizontally,” said Vanessa.
The memory of that surreal sight, on a blustery Wednesday morning, won't soon be forgotten by one longtime San Diegan.
“For my mom, it was a mix of excited and worry. We’ve never had this sort of thing happen up here,” said Reynoso.
