May 29, 2021 Landspout Tornado in Gunnison County

Overview

An upper level disturbance moving southeast across the Central Rockies triggered widespread showers and thunderstorms on Saturday, May 29, 2021. Strong surface winds in the vicinity of the West Elk Mountains near Crested Butte, Colorado, combined with local terrain features, aided in the spin-up of a short-lived landspout tornado that was captured by a storm chaser along Kebler Pass. The tornado was estimated to be near 12,600 feet near the summit of Purple Mountain. It briefly touched down around 1:30 PM LST and traveled a short distance along the ridge before dissipating. Snow could be seen blowing around the base of the rotation as it moved across the ridge.

This is the first confirmed tornado in western Colorado west of the Continental Divide in 2021, and is also the first confirmed tornado in the area since the June 24, 2018 Routt County tornado. Unfortunately, due to its remote location NWS meteorologists were unable to perform a storm survey so the estimated EF rating and subsequent peak wind speeds of the landspout tornado remain unknown.

Colorado Storm Chasers captured the landspout on video which you can view on YouTube.

Landspout Tornado near the summit of Purple Mountain (Credit: Colorado Storm Chasers)

Landspout Tornado near Purple Mountain summit (Credit: CO Storm Chasers)


Radar reflectivity loop from KGJX WSR-88D radar during the event	Radar storm-relative velocity loop from KGJX WSR-88D radar during the event	Google Earth image showing estimated landspout touchdown compared to terrain features and where it was observed from

Tornado

Landspout Tornado - Summit of Purple Mountain/West Elk Mountains
GUNNISON COUNTY, COLORADO

Date	5/29/2021
Time (Local)	1:30 PM
EF Rating	EF-Unknown
Est. Peak Winds	Unknown
Path Length	0.65 miles
Max Width	20 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: A landspout tornado briefly touched down in the West Elk Mountains near the summit of Purple Mountain in west-central Colorado. The touchdown occurred around 1:30 PM on May 29, 2021.

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

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