Tornado hits Huntington

Standing in her navy vest and white-and-blue striped shirt, the manager of Peter’s Landing Marina answered the incessantly ringing phone and talked to residents coming to assess the damage in what became a kind of ground zero.

Joanie Seaton’s office overlooks Huntington Harbour, and she and her husband had front-row seats for a tornado that touched down Tuesday afternoon, causing a car to flip onto its side and a 45-foot boat to fly up into the air, according to witnesses.

The tornado is just one incident in a storm that has caused flooding and trees to uproot. After three days of severe weather, residents have to get through today before the storm is expected to peter out into showers, according to the National Weather Service.

The storm brews

The chirping of a grasshopper was the first warning.

Seaton’s computer issued the alert — she had seven minutes before the tornado hit, according to a weather watch site.

Fear gripped Seaton as she and her husband crouched down under a desk that faced floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the marina filled with shiny white yachts. They peeked over the top of the wooden desk to look out the window.

“It was black as pitch,” she said.

Birds appeared to be flying through the air, but Seaton quickly realized the objects were roof tiles, signage and large tree branches.

A large dinghy sitting in the marina was lifted into the air, swirling, and a 45-foot catamaran flew up about 100 feet before it was dropped two slips down on top of two boats, she said.

It was all over in seconds.

In the short amount of time, the wind had shredded canvas coverings on boats, ripped metal guard rails from the bow of another and left the marina full of debris.

“It’s amazing. You never hear about tornadoes in Orange County,” said Mike Vaughn, a Huntington Harbour resident.

Vaughn said he rushed to the marina, where he lives on his boat, after he heard about the tornado — his 12-year-old Norwegian elk hound, Sachi, which is Japanese for “happiness,” was on his boat.

“I don’t think she even woke up,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn was one of the lucky ones whose boat wasn’t damaged, but others descended on the marina to check on their property.

In the parking lot of Peter’s Landing, an unoccupied SUV vehicle flipped over onto its side, according to Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman John McDonald.

Flooding throughout city

As the tornado descended on Huntington Harbour, the storm was wreaking havoc across the city. Resident Glenn Blackway stood on the pier watching the storm as rain pelted him horizontally, rendering his umbrella worthless.

“Holy mackerel, was it blowing,” Blackway said.

Through the storm, Blackway could only see about 20 feet down the pier, but he could make out swirling clouds forming three water spouts off the ocean, he said.

The rain flooded out several areas of Huntington Beach, causing authorities to close the southbound lanes of Pacific Coast Highway from Warner to Seapoint avenues, said Lt. John Domingo of the Police Department.

Twelfth Street and Crest Avenue and the 8400 block of Edinger Avenue also experienced serious flooding, Domingo said.

“Obviously, the weather is creating a problem for everyone,” Domingo said.

The storm is expected to bring 15- to 20-foot breaks and winds up to 60 mph and could bring more tornadoes or waterspouts, according to the National Weather Service.

“It’s a good time to be away from the water if you can be,” McDonald said.