Severe Thunderstorms in the East Sunday; Excessive Heat Lingers in the Southern U.S. and Returning to California

Scattered damaging winds from severe thunderstorms will be possible across parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States Sunday. Excessive heat will continue over the southern U.S. Sunday before another round of heat arrives Monday through the central and southern U.S. spreading into the East by Independence Day. California will see excessive heat starting Tuesday. Read More >

Overview

Three rain wrapped tornadoes occurred over eastern portions of Morgan county on 7/29/2018 late in the afternoon. All three were rated EF2. In addition the storms were accompanied by straight line winds of 60 to 80 mph with up to 100 mph in a few locations. Furthermore wind driven hail up to baseball size also occurred. As a result this led to widespread crop and property damage across eastern Morgan county (shaded red area) which extended into western portions of Washington county as well.

Paths of the three EF2 Tornadoes

Tornado
Photos
Radar

Tornadoes:

Tornado #1 (Northwest of Hillrose)
Morgan County (green path)

Date	July 29, 2018
Time (Local)	4:31 - 4:43 PM
EF Rating	2
Est. Peak Winds	120 mph
Path Length	8.6 miles
Max Width	Est. 300 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: A tornado developed northwest of Hillrose near the South Platte River and moved south across Interstate 76 and Highway 34. Wind speeds up to 120 mph occurred just north of Hillrose.

Tornado #2 (2 miles east of Brush)
Morgan County (blue path)

Date	July 29, 2018
Time (Local)	4:37 - 4:47 PM
EF Rating	2
Est. Peak Winds	115 mph
Path Length	7.7 miles
Max Width	Est. 300 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: A tornado developed north of the Brush Airport and moved south across Highway 34. Substantial damage occurred at the Brush Airport and numerous power poles were snapped east of Highway 71. Estimated wind speeds were 115 mph.

Tornadoes #3 (9 mi southeast of Brush)
Morgan/Washington Counties (red path)

Date	July 29, 2018
Time (Local)	4:50 - 5:00 PM
EF Rating	2
Est. Peak Winds	115 mph
Path Length	7 miles
Max Width	Est. 300 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: A tornado developed north of County Road K in Morgan county and then moved southeast into Washington county. Numerous power poles were snapped along its path which was indicative of 115 mph winds.

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph