'Rare' Northern California tornado flips cars, sends several to hospital

A rare EF-1 tornado touched down in a small Northern California city Saturday, flipping cars, causing significant damage and sending several people to the hospital.

The National Weather Service said the apparent tornado touched down at about 1:40 p.m. local time in Scotts Valley, about 30 miles south of San Jose.

Several people were taken to the hospital with injuries, but there are no reported deaths, according to a press release from the Scotts Valley Police Department.

"Emergency medical teams are prioritizing those most in need of care, and we continue to monitor the situation closely," police said in the news release.

The tornado caused "significant damage" in several areas, police said.

Photos shared by police on social media showed multiple cars turned on their sides along the roadway and in a shopping center parking lot.

Scotts Valley Mayor Randy Johnson joined ABC News Live on Sunday in the wake of the tornado's damage, saying, the event "quite frankly took us by surprise because we're used to quakes, floods and fires."

"It's so rare, obviously, that I don't know if we have if we have that technology to, quote, give us a warning. But we added [it] to the list," Johnson said, who noted cleanup and repairs were underway.

"Our public works department worked the entire night overnight cleaning up the massive amount of debris," he said.

The weather service confirmed the tornado based on videos, photos, witness accounts and radar and said a survey team would further investigate damage on the ground to determine how strong it was.

California averages about 11 tornadoes a year, typically in the fall and spring, according to the weather service.

Earlier Saturday morning, the weather service issued the first tornado warning for San Francisco, amid a strong storm that knocked out power for thousands, according to ABC station KGO.

The tornado warning in San Francisco was lifted about 20 minutes later.