NWS Confirms ‘Rare’ EF-1 Tornado Struck Phoenix AZ Friday Morning

PHOENIX, AZ. (THECOUNT) — Phoenix was struck early Friday morning by a rare EF-1 tornado, the National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed.

The twister took out massive trees and poles and left a path of debris and destruction behind, reports AZFamily.

At Third Street and Thunderbird Road, nearly 20-foot trees, with their roots and irrigation systems, were ripped out, falling on top of fences and homes. The tornado left a widespread area of damage from north Phoenix all the way to parts of the East Valley.

All day on Friday, NWS was swamped with work, surveying damage around the Valley. “This is tornadic damage because we’re seeing it in a number of locations kind of skipping along through this area of North Phoenix and North Scottsdale,” said Ken Waters with NWS.

He said they stopped at 10 different locations collecting data, looking at which direction trees fell and measuring the diameter of tree trunks that were yanked out of the ground. The whole ordeal caused them to send out phone alerts across the Valley overnight, hoping to keep everyone safe during a wild end to Thanksgiving.

Geo quick facts: Phoenix is the capital of the southwestern U.S. state of Arizona. Known for its year-round sun and warm temperatures, it anchors a sprawling, multi-city metropolitan area known as the Valley of the Sun. It’s known for high-end spa resorts, Jack Nicklaus–designed golf courses and vibrant nightclubs. Other highlights include the Desert Botanical Garden, displaying cacti and numerous native plants – wikipedia.