"This has never happened": People recovering from tornado, thunderstorms and flooding in Tuolumne
TUOLUMNE COUNTY -— A tornado touched down in Tuolumne County on Saturday creating some frightening moments for people living in the area.
"I have never ever seen it like this before in my life," said Cindy Santos who lives in Angel Camp, but was making a drive through Sonora during the worst of the storm.
The tornado that was confirmed to have touched down near Sonora and Jamestown left behind flooded roads, hail on the ground and rushing water.
"It was like two feet of water coming up to my car," said Santos. "It is very dangerous, and I was like afraid."
Flooded road signs lined the streets and created traffic in spots.
"When you are driving and you are seeing all this water, you know you are just going through it so slow, and there are rocks and you are just sitting there not knowing if you are going into a ditch actually," said Santos.
The water made it impossible for some people to leave their homes. There was one car stuck in the water of the flooded Morris Road in Sonora.
"We have a lot of out-of-towners on the weekends that cannot drive, so they are probably scared and probably for good reason," said Ed Atkins who has lived in Tuttletown for over 20 years.
Caltrans crews worked quickly during a brief break in the storm on Saturday afternoon. They were clearing out drains to make a path for the water to run.
"I call it schizophrenic weather," said Atkins. "One minute it is spring. Then it is deep winter, and then it is spring again."
Parts of Tuolumne were under tornado, thunderstorm and flash flooding warnings, but there were still many cars traveling the roads.
"I should not have even of came out, but my client needed a phone, so I am out here serving my client," said Santos. "This has never happened in Sonora like this."
The severe storm caused several road closures in the area on Saturday.
