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EF1 tornado in Douglas County, Colorado

Tornado June 22, 2023 · Douglas County, Colorado

EF1

Rating

6.3 mi

Path length

25 yd

Path width

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 25 yards (0.01 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A tornado touched down just south of CO-470 in Douglas County, west of Lucent Blvd, impacting the city of Highlands Ranch. The tornado lifted just west of the intersection of Lincoln Ave and Lone Tree Parkway. Most all of the damage was rated EF-0, with small pockets of EF1 damage as well which involved a well built single family home.

The wider storm

A supercell thunderstorm formed in the higher terrain west of Denver and moved across the Arapahoe/Douglas County line, from the west metro Denver to south Metro Denver. Up to 2.5 inches hail occurred in the populated areas of Jefferson County. An EF1 tornado touched down just south of CO-470 in the city of Highlands Ranch. Preliminarily the tornado was on the ground for 6.3 miles. No injuries were reported but over 100 trees were downed. Some window/shingle damage has been noted to both houses and commercial properties. South Metro Fire Dapartment responded to dozens of calls in Highlands Ranch south of c470 between Lucent and Quebec for storm related damage including roof damage, trees down, natural gas leaks and electrical problems.

At Northridge Elementary School a tree had fallen on the school and portions of the roof were been ripped off. Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch also sustained damage.

Began near Highlands Ranch (39.5559, -105.0159).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1109048. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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