This is how strong two of Sunday’s tornadoes in Colorado were, according to NWS

DENVER (KDVR) — Two tornadoes that swept through eastern Colorado on Sunday afternoon are officially significant tornadoes with “considerable” damage, the National Weather Service said on Tuesday morning.

The tornadoes touched down near Bennett in Arapahoe and Adams counties, as well as the Elkhorn Ranch area of Elbert County on Sunday afternoon, causing damage to more than 30 structures. Residents in the areas are still recovering from the storms.

On Tuesday morning, NWS said preliminary data showed the significant tornadoes were EF2s, meaning between 111 mph to 135 mph wind speeds and “considerable” damage, typically including roofs torn off homes, homes shifted on their foundations, destroyed mobile homes, large trees snapped or uprooted and tossed cars. The NWS said the data is currently preliminary, barring new information.

No one has been reported injured from Sunday’s tornadoes, but Elbert County officials declared a local emergency after a tornado damaged nearly two dozen structures.

SkyFOX flew over the town of Bennett on Sunday and captured images of blown-out barns, roofs that were stripped of shingles and RVs turned over by the force of the storm.

The Storm Prediction Center had tallied 883 local tornado reports this year as of Monday, which was 35% higher than average for this time of year, according to the Associated Press. The U.S. is on track to see more tornadoes this year than in 2024, which was the second-busiest tornado year on record.

The NWS Boulder on X said there were four total tornadoes, and they are still gathering information on the other two.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *