A strong storm system moved through the Southland early Thursday amid evacuation warnings and fears of debris flows, bringing a heavy dose of rain over a short period of time and causing a rare tornado in Pico Rivera.

Windspeeds reached 85 mph for about two minutes as the tornado traversed about a mile just west of the 605 Freeway.

Residents along Glencannon Drive were expecting rain. But instead they got a tornado that downed trees and damaged several homes.