Fresno-area tornado warning results in brief school shutdown. See our funnel cloud photo
A tornado warning in the Central Valley on Tuesday afternoon resulted in noisy cellphone warnings, concerned drivers and a brief lockdown for a Fresno-area school district.
Brian Ochs, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Hanford, said there was a 2-4 percent chance of a tornado forming between the Stockton and Selma areas on Tuesday.
The conditions were due to a low-pressure system moving the area, which brought along stormy weather conditions. A funnel cloud could be seen forming near Highway 99 and Herndon, though it dissipated before touching down.
An emergency alert advised people to seek shelter, and Clovis Unified issued a shelter-in-place order around 2:50 p.m. in response to the alert and that order lasted about 30 minutes.
Ochs said there was a report of a tornado touching down in Biola around 2:15 p.m. It’s strength is being investigated, and Ochs said there weren’t any reports of damage.
Ochs said the Central Valley sees maybe one or two tornado reports annually, and the most recent tornado to touch down in Fresno County happened in Clovis in 2019.
This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 3:59 PM.
