Tornadoes touch down in California's Central Valley near Fresno, National Weather Service confirms

The National Weather Service has confirmed reports of multiple tornadoes that touched down in California's Central Valley on Tuesday, as a powerful spring storm passed through the region.

According to the agency's Hanford office, two tornadoes touched down in Fresno County, while a third tornado touched down in Merced County.

Meteorologists said the first tornado touched down 2.5 miles southeast of the community of Biola in Fresno County around 2:10 p.m. The EF0 tornado had an estimated peak wind of 70 mph and lasted for about two minutes.

Around the same time, the weather service issued multiple tornado warnings for areas north of Fresno. According to Fresno CBS affiliate KGPE-TV, school districts in the area issued shelter-in-place orders when the warnings were in effect.  

A second tornado in Fresno County was reported shortly before 5:10 p.m. about 8.5 miles northeast of the city of Clovis. The tornado covered two miles and lasted for about seven minutes

"Damage assessment team reported snapped and uprooted trees consistent with EF1 damage from tornado around 5:24PM PDT," the agency's Storm Prediction Center said in a statement.

According to the weather service, an EF1 tornado has winds between 86 and 110 mph. In an update Wednesday afternoon, officials said the estimated peak wind of the tornado was about 95 mph. 

The tornado in Merced County was an EF1 that touched down about three miles west of Atwater at 3:30 p.m. The tornado had an estimated peak wind of 110 mph and lasted for about nine minutes.

There were no reports of injuries from any of the tornadoes.

The Storm Prediction Center also confirmed reports of damaging winds in Merced County, including downed trees near the communities of Ballico and Cressley. Near the city of Atwater, a farm and house also sustained property damage due to the wind.