FLAGSTAFF — The National Weather Service has confirmed a third tornado from the Oct. 21 storms, an EF-1 that tore through forest northwest of Flagstaff, ABC15 and Arizona’s Family reported.
Forecasters said the Wing Mountain tornado touched down at 5:41 a.m. about 3.5 miles north of Bellemont, with estimated peak winds of 110 mph. It carved a path about 2.3 miles long and up to 600 yards wide west of Highway 180, snapping ponderosa pines along the way.
The finding means three tornadoes hit Arizona in a single day. The weather service previously confirmed an EF-1 on Spruce Mountain near Prescott at 7:32 a.m., with winds of 105 mph along an 8-mile path, and an EF-1 near Heber-Overgaard at 6:59 p.m., with 110 mph winds along a 9.25-mile path. One person was injured in the Heber-Overgaard tornado, according to the reports.
Tornadoes are uncommon in Arizona, and several in one day is rarer still. The storms came as an unusually strong autumn system swept across the high country.
The weather service typically confirms tornadoes after damage surveys, which can take days in remote, forested terrain.
Sources: ABC15, Arizona’s Family. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: J. M. Miller / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
