EF2 Tornado — Duchesne, Utah

2022-06-19 · near Fruitland, Duchesne, Utah

Event narrative

A tornado developed near the summit of US-191 and Argyle Canyon

Road in remote southwestern Duchesne County at about 9200 feet.

Sporadic damage is noted in this area as it moved north over a

ridge line and into a valley adjacent to US-191 along Indian

Canyon.

The tornado then descended down the length of the valley from

about 9200 feet to a creek adjacent to US-191 at an elevation of

about 8500 feet. Over this period, both the strength and and width

of the tornado increased substantially with a continuous damage

path through a mixed aspen and conifer forest. The maximum damage

was found in this area and was significant. Almost all trees over

a large hillside facing the road were violently blown down,

snapped, or topped into a clearly convergent axis. Several tree

tops were desposited along the creek and road with no clear

indicatation as to where they orginated.

The tornado then crossed US-191 and ascended the hillside from

about 8500 feet to another ridge on the northwest side of the road

to an elevation of about 9100 feet. Considerable damage was noted

immediately north of US-191 where numerous trees were snapped or

uprooted, although not to the severe extent noted on the south

side of the road. Damage decreased considerably up the hillside to

the top of the 9100 foot ridge line with more sporadic toppled

trees.

A few toppled trees were noted into the next basin over the ridge

on the north side of the road, marking the last discernible

damage from the tornado, and the end of the 2 mile damage path.

Wider weather episode

A widespread high wind event across Utah was followed by strong thunderstorms associated with a system spanning a three-day period. These storms produced numerous instances of severe wind gusts, in addition to a tornado, a report of hail, and flash flooding.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.8820, -110.7445)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1043341. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.