Tuesday late-night tornado confirmed in Tucson: NWS
Screenshot of a video that purportedly shows a tornado in the Tucson area. (Courtesy: Jill Folkers)
PHOENIX - Officials with the National Weather Service say they have determined that a tornado touched down in a portion of Tucson on Tuesday night.
In a statement, forecasters said the tornado began at 10:40 p.m. in the area of Kolb Road and Valencia Detour, and dissipated in the area of Valencia Road and Frost Drive ten minutes later.
"At this time, the tornado was determined via pictures of damage. No injuries or fatalities were reported," read a portion of the forecast. "Damage includes lots of downed trees, a few big trees,
and a bit of roof damage where tiles were blown off."
Forecasters have assigned this tornado an EF-1, which is the second-lowest category on
the six-category Enhanced Fujita Scale.
What is the Enhanced Fujita Scale?
Downtown Tucson skyline (Photo by REBECCA NOBLE/AFP via Getty Images)
On their website, the National Weather Service states that a tornado is assigned a rating under the Enhanced Fujita Scale, based on estimated wind speeds and related damage.
An EF-1 tornado, according to the scale, has three-second wind gusts of 86MPH to 110MPH.
The NWS also states they are the only federal agency with authority to provide official EF scale ratings for tornadoes.