Good evening, SoCal. We're wrapping up the day for you with the most important stories you need to know and your weather outlook.

Your Weather Planner

After a couple days of strong storms moving across Southern California, the weather ahead looks pretty calm.

There is just a slight chance for some remnant showers across Southern California Thursday. The best chances for rain will be in the foothills and inland areas west of the mountains.

Skies will be partly cloudy for most of Southern California.

Temperatures will remain on the cool side of average with widespread 60s. 

Tomorrow's Highs

Get your 7-day forecast: LA West | LA East | San Fernando Valley/Ventura County | Orange County

Today's Big Stories

1. Tornado sweeps through Montebello, 11 buildings red-tagged

A rare tornado swept through the Montebello area Wednesday, heavily damaging nearly a dozen buildings and an unknown number of vehicles, while leaving one person with minor injuries.

The National Weather Service confirmed that the tornado — the strength of which has not yet been measured — hit around 11:20 a.m. Wednesday. The storm was focused generally in the area of Washington Boulevard and Vail Avenue, in a largely industrial district.

Officials said the tornado developed fairly quickly as a strong storm cell pushed its way through the area. One person suffered minor injuries, according to the Montebello Fire Department.

Fire officials said city inspectors examined 17 buildings in the tornado-affected area, and 11 of them were red-tagged, or marked unsuitable for occupation.

2. Pothole damage prompts Caltrans to close parts of State Route 71 this weekend

Following multiple incidents of drivers damaging their vehicles after hitting large potholes, the California Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that it will fully close a portion of State Route 71 to repair the road, starting this weekend.

Caltrans began working to repair the potholes Tuesday night and was continuing to fill them Wednesday while allowing some traffic, but the agency plans to complete the job starting Friday.

SR-71 is a 15-mile state highway that runs through Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties connecting the cities of Pomona and Chino.

Click the link above for the the full list of freeway closures.

3. LAUSD strike moves into second day; Mayor Bass looks to broker solution

Los Angeles Unified School District service workers picketed for a second day Wednesday, again shuttering campuses in the nation's second-largest school district, but contract talks were again taking place between the district and union, facilitated by Mayor Karen Bass.

In a statement Tuesday morning, Mayor Karen Bass' office said Bass "will continue to work privately with all parties to reach an agreement to reopen the schools and guarantee fair treatment of all LAUSD workers."

Max Arias, president of the Service Employees International Union Local 99, issued a statement supporting the mayor's involvement.

"We are grateful that the mayor has stepped in to provide leadership in an effort to find a path out of our current impasse," Arias said. "Education workers have always been eager to negotiate as long as we are treated with respect and bargained with fairly, and with the mayor's leadership we believe that is possible."

The LAUSD issued a statement that district officials "have been in conversation with SEIU Local 99 leaders with the assistance and support of Mayor Bass."

The roughly 30,000 workers represented by SEIU Local 99 walked off the job Tuesday and are expected to continue striking through Thursday in a show of solidarity amid stalled labor talks focused primarily on the union's demand for a 30% salary boost.

4. Orange County is most competitive rental market in California

Finding a good, affordable place to rent has always been difficult, but nowhere in California is it more challenging than Orange County, according to a new analysis from RentCafe. For every vacant apartment in the OC, 11 people apply, according to the nationwide apartment search website’s new Rental Competitivity Report. More than half of the apartment dwellers in the OC renew their leases; 96% of apartments are occupied.

San Diego is the second most competitive rental market in the state, followed by Eastern Los Angeles County, which ranks third. 

For every vacant apartment in Eastern LA, there are 16 prospective renters. Forty-two percent of renters renew their leases; 97% of apartments are occupied. Demand in Eastern LA increased largely because apartment inventory grew by only 0.1% in 2022.

North LA/Ventura County ranks fifth most competitive. Western LA County is eighth.

For its analysis, RentCafe looked at 670,000 apartments in 186 cities nationally at the start of 2023, ranking them based on occupancy rates, vacant days, prospective renters per vacant unit, renewal lease rate and the share of new apartments.   

Nationally, the most competitive rental markets are on the East Coast. North Jersey in New Jersey ranks first, followed by Miami-Dade County, Fla., and Harrisburg, Penn. Nationally, Orange County ranks 11th, and Eastern LA County is 20th.

5. U.N., U.S. officials denounce Uganda's harsh new anti-LGBTQ bill

Ugandan lawmakers passed a bill prescribing jail terms of up to 10 years for offenses related to same-sex relations, responding to popular sentiment but piling more pressure on the East African country’s LGBTQ community.

The bill was passed late Tuesday inside a packed parliamentary chamber, and after a roll call ordered by the House speaker, who had repeatedly warned it was necessary to identify those who might oppose the bill. It was supported by nearly all of the 389 legislators present.

The bill now will go to President Yoweri Museveni, who can veto or sign it into law. He suggested in a recent speech that he supports the bill, accusing unnamed Western nations of “trying to impose their practices on other people.”

The United Nations and the White House denounced the bill Wednesday.

“The passing of this discriminatory bill — probably among the worst of its kind in the world — is a deeply troubling development,” Volker Turk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the Ugandan government “to strongly reconsider the implementation of this legislation” on Twitter.

And White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre opened her daily press briefing Wednesday by detailing the Biden administration’s “grave concerns” over the bill.

(AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

Your Notes for Tomorrow

• First Couple begin Canada trip
• Defense Secretary Austin testifies to House Appropriations subcommittee on budget
• Energy Secretary Granholm testifies to House Appropriations Committee hearing on budget
• Treasury Secretary Yellen and CEA and OMB heads testify to House Appropriations subcommittee
• NCAA March Madness Sweet 16 round
• House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing with testimony from TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew
• Sentencing of Capitol rioter who allegedly stole Pelosi aide's laptop
• House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing with testimony from Secretary of State Antony Blinken