Fallen tree onto a building and car near George's Market. Yellow caution tape and overcast sky in the background.
Shotwell and 24th Street. Photo by Ricardo Peña.

San Franciscans were abruptly woken up to a tornado alert from the National Weather Service in the early hours of Saturday morning. 

The alert came at 5:52 a.m. as high winds blew and heavy rain fell. According to the San Francisco Fire Department, 49 calls came in between 6 a.m. and 7:40 a.m. No one was injured, a spokesperson from the department said, but the storm left trees and wires down, broken windows, minor flooding, and roof damage to one home. 

A fallen tree blocks a street in front of George's Market. Colorful flags hang above, and a yellow caution tape is set up around the scene.
Shotwell and 24th Street. Photo by Ricardo Peña.
A worker in hi-vis clothing cuts fallen tree branches on a sidewalk with a chainsaw.
Worker at Shotwell and 24th streets. Photo by Ricardo Peña.
Workers in safety gear clear fallen branches from the street beside a damaged tree and building.
Workers at Shotwell and 24th streets. Photo by Ricardo Peña.
Fallen tree branches obstruct the street beside parked cars in a residential area.
At 25th and Folsom streets. Photo by Ricardo Peña.

The tornado warning was lifted at 6:15 a.m. 

More than 11,000 residents lost power last night and early this morning, according Jackie Thornhill, a spokesperson for the Department of Emergency Management. Since 7:30 a.m., PG&E crews have been out repairing lines. “It seems to be steadily improving,” Thornhill said.  

According to the PG&E outage map, at around 9:30 a.m., power was still out in the southeast corner of the Mission, in Bernal Heights, Holly Park, and in the Outer Sunset. 

A utility truck and a van parked on a rainy street corner with a pink pole, fallen leaves, and caution tape on Alabama and Precita streets.
At Precita Park. Photo by Ricardo Peña.

In the Mission, the storm uprooted a giant tree at Shotwell and 24th streets, and it fell directly across 24th Street. By early this morning, workers were already out, working to clear the street.

A large tree has fallen across a street under gray skies, blocking the road. Colored flags are hung above, and debris is scattered.
Shotwell and 24th streets. Photo by Ricardo Peña.

“I could hear chainsaws working,” said Ricardo Peña, who owns Mixcoatl on 24th Street.

The tree was on the corner of Shotwell and 24th streets, in front of George’s Market, which does not open until 10 a.m. Taqueria Guadalajara, directly across the street, does not open until 11 a.m. Traffic has been blocked for the moment.

Further south, Christian Brede, a Bernal Heights resident, woke up to large chunks of a tree falling onto a car parked in front of his house. “We heard the tree, something happened out front. There was a flash of lightning,” he said. 

The fire department came within minutes and began chainsawing those branches off the tree.

More photos from readers:

A fallen tree blocks a street at night, with emergency vehicle lights illuminating the scene. Houses and parked cars are visible in the background.
Fallen branches on Precita Ave. Photo by Jennifer Keith.
Tree branches and debris scattered on a wet street and sidewalk after a storm, with parked cars visible in the background.
Fallen branches on Precita Ave. Photo by Jennifer Keith.
A fierce storm has left fallen trees blocking a residential street, with houses on both sides shrouded in darkness due to downed power lines and scattered debris.
Bernal Heights by Jin Park.
A storm has left fallen tree branches blocking the sidewalk in front of a building adorned with a mural and a market sign.
On 24th and Balmy Alley. Photo by Angel Mayorga.
A maroon car is parked on a city street, framed by buildings and a tree lining the sidewalk. The overcast sky looms above, hinting at an impending storm.
On Mission Street between Park and Highland streets. Photo by Stefany Amaya.

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Find me looking at data. I studied Geography at McGill University and worked at a remote sensing company in Montreal, analyzing methane data, before turning to journalism and earning a master's degree from Columbia Journalism School.

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2 Comments

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  2. At 22nd/Shotwell I had broken glass all over my deck that came from someone else’s house. At the same time as the thunder, the house shook violently and multiple skylights blew upwards, one landing nearby on the roof.

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