South L.A., moments before the tornado swirled in earnest, caught on tape by an onlooker. | ABC7 screenshot

Well, this is a rare headline.

A tornado swirling at least 65 miles per hour touched down in South Los Angeles Friday morning, ripping the roofs off several homes, flinging trash and debris into the air and leaving onlookers gaping in disbelief at the vicious, rare display of weather.

Some recorded videos that the National Weather Service later used to rank the mini-twister at level EF0, the smallest on the scale, which can spin up to 85 miles per hour.

“Look at that, look at that!” said one man in a heavily bleeped-out video obtained by ABC7, just seconds before the tornado began spinning in earnest. “What the bleep!” he exclaimed, multiple times, as palm trees swayed at their waists and debris got catapulted over his head and onto the adjacent roof.

In less than a minute, it was over. “Look what that did to our neighborhood, yo,” the cameraman concluded in astonishment.

Watch the action here:

According to the L.A. Times, the fierce wind succeeded at damaging a total of five homes, including tearing the roof off a duplex. A steel-edged sign that crashed into a window at the Garr Learning Center spooked the preschoolers inside, but none were injured.

To see the damage for yourself, visit the intersection of S. Vermont and W. Gage and head to 57th St. and Figueroa.

Did you see the tornado?! Tell us about it in the comments below and email pictures to [email protected]. 

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