Extreme California weather is ripping windows off San Francisco skyscrapers
Extreme winds ripped windows from a skyscraper in San Francisco earlier this week, causing glass panes to tumble from the sky above the heads of unwitting pedestrians crossing the street below.
The dangerous scene at the 555 California Street building was just one of the scary wind-related incidents that occurred throughout the city this week.
The San Francisco Police Department confirmed reports of several windows coming down in the Mission District.
No injuries have been reported, though shocking footage from around the city shows falling objects landing relatively close to people outside.
According to a structural engineer who spoke with kron4, it is unusual for windows to break in high rise buildings.
Authorities also said that several of the buildings have since been assessed without finding any evidence of damage related to the storm.
A broken window in the Salesforce East building in San Francisco after wind storms ripped out glass in skyscrapers earlier this week
Previous videos from the area show the tiles on outdoor patios coming off, trees coming down, and even a couch flying through the air.
The wind and rain mayhem from San Francisco Bay south to Monterey Bay on Tuesday was caused by an extraordinary drop in barometric pressure over the eastern Pacific that meteorologists described as ‘explosive cyclogenesis.’
Wow. Even by the standards of what has turned out to be one of our most extraordinary winter seasons in a very long time, yesterday … stands out,’ the Bay Area weather office wrote.
Trees and power lines were blown down. Windows were blown out of two San Francisco high-rises, NBC Bay Area reported. The ferry service was disrupted because conditions were too rough and three barges got loose and damaged a bridge.
At least five were killed in the region, with one dying in a gated community 25 miles east of San Francisco when a tree fell onto a moving car.
Another driver was killed after a toppled tree crushed a work van in San Mateo County, while another lost his life after a tree fell on him in Oakland.
Two others were killed in storm-related incidents, according to ABC News.
Earlier in March, severe storms pummeled California with hailstones the size of quarters and devastating floods which saw 10,000 people evacuated from their homes on Saturday – as a rare tornado warning was issued for Fresno County.
Funnel clouds were spotted in the heart of California’s Gold Rush on Saturday afternoon and the weather service issued a tornado warning for the Sierra Nevada foothills as severe thunderstorms, hail and high winds blanketed the region.
Extreme weather has recently plagued California with excessive amounts of snow falling in both areas surrounding the Bay Area and in the mountain ranges surrounding Los Angeles.
The state has experienced 11 atmospheric rivers this season, storms that have brought enormous amounts of rain and snow to the state and helped ease the drought conditions that had dragged on for three years.
The president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors says he wants comprehensive window inspections of all downtown high-rises after multiple windows broke at the Salesforce East building and the Millennium Tower during Tuesday’s windstorm. https://t.co/iDo1BjqX1U pic.twitter.com/IgqgySj