Purported 2025 San Diego weather video includes old clips and fake tornadoes | Fact check
The claim: Video shows San Diego 'fully flooded' and tornado on Feb. 7
A Feb. 7 Facebook video (direct link, archive link) shows a montage of flooding and tornado footage.
"Today San Diego was fully flooded followed by strong tornado," reads text superimposed over the footage.
The video was shared more than 150 times in a week.
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Our rating: False
There was no tornado or substantial flooding in San Diego on Feb. 7, according to an area meteorologist. The video includes footage that circulated prior to Feb. 7.
No San Diego tornado Feb. 7
Sam Zuber, a San Diego area National Weather Service meteorologist, told Paste BN there were no reports of tornadoes or substantial flooding in San Diego County on Feb. 7.
Multiple clips in the video circulated online prior to Feb. 7. These include:
- A beach scene online since at least March 2024
- A cloudburst online since at least September 2022
- Wind-battered buildings online since at least October 2024
- Purported New York City tornado footage debunked by Paste BN in September 2024
- Flooding footage online since at least January 2024
Zuber also said multiple clips in the video show tornadoes that are clearly inauthentic, but she did not know whether they were generated by artificial intelligence.
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Paste BN reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-check sources
- Sam Zuber, Feb. 11, Phone interview with Paste BN
- Paste BN, Sept. 9, 2024, Meteorologists say New York City tornado video is not authentic | Fact check
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