Weather-rocked San Clemente faces latest threat: a tornado

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Set us as preferred Already dealing with three local emergencies as it tries to recover from the destructive Norte fire and a surge in coastal erosion from two El Niño-related Pacific storms, San Clemente may now be facing damage from yet another climate-fueled emergency: a tornado.The possible twister whipped through a San Clemente golf course Wednesday evening, toppling or snapping off sections of trees and leaving a trail of green carcasses across the typically manicured park, according to videos and photos reviewed by The Times.It doesn’t appear anyone was injured.

The National Weather Service said a team was headed out to the course Thursday to determine if the damage was caused by a tornado, but they had not yet reached consensus.California Few cities in California last week felt the full brunt of the climate crisis more than the small coastal town of San Clemente.

“The cause is uncertain, it’s certainty wind-related, but it’s a matter of what kind of wind,” said Kyle Wheeler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego.“There’s been a couple of different storms that have moved through San Clemente.”Just before 6 p.m.

Wednesday, the weather service issued a special alert about a strong thunderstorm tracking 11 miles south of San Clemente that could bring wind gusts up to 55 mph, warning people to seek shelter inside.Around that time, golfers at the San Clemente Municipal Golf Course reported heavy rain followed by a possible funnel, which left a row of strewn branches, downed trees and one trunk completely uprooted, according to social media posts and local news reports.An Instagram post from one golfer, who appears to be former San Clemente Mayor Tim Brown, showed some of the damage.

He said it was raining too hard to capture what he called a cyclone.“There was a wind gust, it w...