National Weather Service Confirms a Tornado Touched Down Above Fruit Heights on Friday
A tornado touched down in the mountains above Fruit Heights on Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service confirmed — an unusual sight in Davis County, and one that, because of where it happened, caused no damage and hurt no one.
Forecasters placed the touchdown at 3:19 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, along the ridgeline east of Fruit Heights near Francis Peak, at roughly 7,500 feet. That stretch of the Wasatch above Fruit Heights and Farmington is steep, forested and unpopulated, so the tornado passed over open terrain rather than neighborhoods.
Video, not just radar, made the call
Earlier in the afternoon, storm spotters reported a funnel cloud and radar showed rotation, which prompted a tornado warning for part of Davis County. Confirmation came later, when the National Weather Service office in Salt Lake City reviewed video of the storm. The agency said the footage showed rotation reaching the ground and debris being lifted into the air — the evidence forecasters need to move a report from “radar-indicated” to “confirmed.”
Tornadoes are uncommon in Utah, and most are brief and weak. The Weather Service keeps a public tornado history page for the state if you want the longer view.
The rest of Friday’s storm
The tornado was one piece of a broader round of severe weather that moved across the Wasatch Front on Friday, bringing hail and heavy rain to parts of northern Utah. Davis County residents who want warnings pushed to them directly can review the alert and preparedness options published by Davis County Emergency Management, and every Davis County city maintains its own email or text notification list.
If you shot photos or video of Friday’s storm from somewhere in Davis County, we would like to see them — you can submit a photo for possible publication.
Sources
Tornado confirmation, timing and location: National Weather Service, Salt Lake City forecast office. The confirmation was first reported by Utah news outlets, including KSL. More Davis County coverage is on our news page.
