NWS confirms multiple tornadoes touched down in northern Arizona, including 1 near Prescott

The National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes hit northern Arizona on Wednesday.

The first tornado hit about 6 miles south of Prescott in Yavapai County on Wednesday morning. NWS Flagstaff said the twister started at 7:32 a.m. and ended at 7:46 a.m., as it made its way through the Bradshaw Mountains, crossing Spruce Mountain before dispersing near Walker Road, south of Lynx Lake.

The tornado’s winds reached up to 105 miles per hour moving north-northeast for nearly 8 miles. Officials determined it was an EF1 tornado based on “swaths of snapped and uprooted ponderosa pine trees.”

The second tornado struck south of Heber-Overgaard on Wednesday evening, moving north across Highway 260 through the town of about 3,000 people, about 140 miles northeast of Phoenix in Navajo County.

The twister, which started at 6:59 p.m., later dispersed near Highway 277 as it ended at 7:10 p.m. Also an EF1 rated storm, the tornado’s winds reached an estimated 110 miles per hour, which caused damage on the southern side of Highway 260 and also in central portions of Overgaard.

One injury was reported, which was not life-threatening. However, the severe storm tore through Heber-Overgaard, leaving buildings damaged, RVs destroyed and a man homeless.

Between Wednesday morning and Thursday evening/night, there were a total of 16 tornado warnings issued from the National Weather Service in Flagstaff and Tucson.

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