Storm Produces Funnel Clouds, Showers; Wind Topples Trees

A storm system churned through Central and Southern California on Tuesday, producing funnel clouds and a band of showers that brought morning traffic to a crawl.

Yet another wave of weather was bearing down on the region, the National Weather Service said.

Six funnels were sighted north of Bakersfield at about 9 a.m. Tuesday, the weather service said. None were reported to have touched down.

Showers in the Los Angeles area made the morning drive a headache. Spin-outs and collisions dotted the city’s busy freeways as rain measuring from one-tenth to three-tenths of an inch fell in the region.

On Monday, a sudden and violent burst of wind felled a dozen mature trees on the Cal Poly Pomona campus about 4 p.m. as faculty and students were arriving for evening classes.

“We saw lots of debris flying and we saw some of our play equipment flying and that got real scary,” said Consuelo Rodriguez, who was minding youngsters at a campus day care center. “The children looked out the window and they were frightened.”

No injuries resulted from the display of nature’s power, a campus spokesman said.

“It was quite sudden,” said university spokesman Norm Schneider. “The fact that nobody has found any injuries to buildings or people--we’re considering ourselves quite fortunate.”

The National Weather Service said the strong winds were not a tornado or funnel cloud but just a violent downdraft from a thundercloud as the cold front passed overhead.

“Our radar showed just light rain, nothing out of the ordinary,” said meteorologist David Gomberg.

Elsewhere in the region, slippery roads snarled traffic and contributed to at least one death in a traffic accident.

Authorities reported a rash of less serious accidents throughout the region.