The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for the South Los Angeles, Long Beach and Whittier areas as a powerful new storm moves ashore.

The warning is expected to be in place for at least 45 minutes.

Radar shows heavy rain falling in Long Beach, with the storm moving in at 35 mph to the northeast. There were also reports of thunder and lightning across the region.

Forecasters said the storm was capable of producing a tornado, but there was no evidence at this time that any tornadoes have developed on land.

[Updated at 1:03 p.m.: The tornado warning was extended to Orange County. In Seal Beach, officials were urging people to get off the beach. In San Pedro, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported major street flooding in areas near the harbor and ocean.

In East Long Beach, flood waters rose above some streets and were filling the grass areas in front of some homes. There were reports of power outages, though exactly how widespread they were is not clear.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department is checking a report that a car driving on Pacific Coast Highway might have been damaged by the storm, but officials have not confirmed this.

Huntington Beach lifeguards said no waterspouts -- or offshore tornadoes -- have been spotted. The beaches were mostly empty while waves surged, lightning struck and wind reached gusts of 52 miles per hour, said Huntington Beach Marine Safety Lt. Mike Beuerlein.

Newport Beach was seeing wind gusts of over 72 miles per hour and has closed jetties due to high surf, but has seen no tornadoes or waterspouts, said Jennifer Schulz of the Newport Beach Fire Dept.]

Piers along the Southern California coast were being closed today as huge waves surged onto beaches and harbors with a rainstorm that is expected to bring wind, thunder and lightning.

Ventura police closed the city's nearly 2,000-foot wooden pier this morning as a precaution; no damage was reported. But huge waves crashed near beachfront homes. "We're expecting some pretty big surf," said Sgt. Jack Richards.