Rare, high-elevation tornado hits Utah mountainside at nearly 2,300 metres
Incredible footage of a tornado scraping along a mountaintop near Fruit Heights, Utah, on Friday surfaced online, with reports of the twister occurring at an elevation of about 7,500 feet (almost 2,300 metres).
When you're living near a mountainside, one of the last things you would expect to see moving fast at higher elevations would be a tornado, but that's what happened in Utah on Friday.
According to the Salt Lake City, Utah, branch of the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS), a rare, strong twister occurred near Fruit Heights, Utah. The funnel first made contact with the ground near a summit along the ridgeline extending west from Francis Peak, at an elevation of about 7,500 feet (almost 2,300 metres).
Tornadoes are uncommon at very high elevation due to drier air and less favourable thunderstorm dynamics.
Brittany Whitlam, a NWS meteorologist who works at the Salt Lake City office, told Newsweek that radar signatures showed the twister lofted debris 4,000 feet into the air.
She also noted that, based on the radar and videos sent in from residents in the area, NWS can confirm it was a "strong" tornado, but there won't be an official rating designated until a survey team is deployed to the scene to review any damage incurred.
As well, a second tornado struck south of Vernal, Utah.
Thumbnail courtesy of Shon Stevenson | Storyful.
With files from Dennis Mersereau, a digital journalist and weather specialist at The Weather Network.