The tornado never touched down in San Francisco. But the conditions in the atmosphere with wind speed and direction were right, said Brian Garcia, warning coordination meteorologist for National Weather Service in the Bay Area. “San Francisco got lucky,” he said.

San Francisco residents were woken up by a tornado warning early Saturday morning during a powerful storm system that battered the region with heavy rain and wind.

"It was a miracle no one was killed in this event," Scotts Valley Vice Mayor Derek Timm said to a news station Sunday.