COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Here's something you won't read every day: A confirmed EF-1 tornado touched down on Pikes Peak on Thursday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
Minor tree damage accompanied the high-elevation twister, which touched down early on Thursday afternoon.
After assessing the damage from a strong thunderstorm that took place on Thursday, the National Weather Service office in Pueblo determined that an EF-1 tornado touched on Pikes Peak on Thursday afternoon.
Because the rating was a preliminary one, there was no immediate information on estimated maximum tornado winds or the extent of the damage. But, based on photos, it appeared that the tornado mostly caused downed trees and branches.
While tornadoes can and regularly do touch down in the mountains, the kind of tornado that took place on Pikes Peak on Thursday was a highly unusual event for the mountains. A supercell thunderstorm, or one caused by rotating updraft winds that usually allow it to sustain itself for a longer period of time, produced Thursday's tornado. That's a rarity for the much drier, higher elevations.
Usually, the mountains will see shorter-lived and weaker landspout tornadoes. A supercell-type of tornado is quite rare (but not unheard of) in the mountains.
That likely meant that Thursday's tornado on Pikes Peak was longer-lived and stronger than most mountain tornadoes. It could mean that it was one of the highest supercell tornadoes, though there aren't exact records for high-elevation supercell tornadoes.
Because the tornado led to such extensive tree damage, it was likely below tree line, which meant its elevation was probably below 10,000 feet. The highest known tornado on record was a Mount Evans one in 2012, which took place around 12,000 feet up.
So it's unlikely that Thursday's Pikes Peak tornado was the highest on record.
That said, it's still an unusual event, particularly when you consider the kind of tornado that took place.
On top of the tornado, lots of large hail reports accompanied Thursday's storms, especially south and east of Denver. But large hail piled up in Littleton as well on Thursday.
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