A rare tornado touched down in California's Central Valley on Tuesday afternoon, with a funnel cloud reported near Biola, nine miles west of Fresno. The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning after a resident reported the funnel cloud to local emergency officials at 2:12 p.m. Moving northeast at 15 miles per hour, the twister prompted brief shelter-in-place orders at Clovis Unified School District. There were no immediate reports of damage, though forecasters were still assessing the scene.

"We can't officially call it a tornado until we get additional information," said Brian Ochs, a meteorologist at the Weather Service in Hanford. The NWS initially said the tornado was on the ground for up to 10 minutes after the initial report. Nick Daer, another meteorologist from the Hanford office, explained that the combination of a moist environment and warming air created the conditions for a tornado to form.

Tornadoes are uncommon in California but not unprecedented—since 1950, the state has recorded 487 tornadoes, according to Golden Gate Weather Services. The last notable tornado in the Fresno area struck Clovis on Jan. 16, 2019, registering as an EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita scale. This week's tornado formed as a storm system moved across Northern California, with morning rain giving way to afternoon clearing.