Bennett, Elbert County hit by EF2 tornadoes, meteorologists say

WEATHER

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Piles of debris are strewn all over Monday from a large tornado that destroyed a house, garage/shop and other structures on the property belonging to Mark Faber and his partner Vikki Katchen in Bennett. The couple have lost everything. HELEN H. RICHARDSON — THE DENVER POST

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By Lauren Penington

lpenington@denverpost.com

Two tornadoes that tore across parts of Adams, Arapahoe and Elbert counties on Sunday, leaving dozens of destroyed or damaged buildings in their wake, were rated EF2, National Weather Service meteorologists said Tuesday.

The ratings of two other confirmed tornadoes on the Eastern Plains remain unknown, NWS meteorologist David Barjenbruch said.

All four tornadoes hit between 1 and 2 p.m. Sunday.

EF2 tornadoes reach wind speeds between 111 mph and 135 mph and are marked by “considerable damage,” according to NWS meteorologists.

Damage often includes roofs torn off of well-constructed homes, buildings shifting on their foundations, destroyed mobile homes, cars tossed across long distances, and snapped or uprooted trees, meteorologists said.

In the last 30 years, Colorado has seen an average of 45 tornadoes a year, Barjenbruch said. Only 2.9% of those have been ranked EF2, and fewer than 1% were ranked EF3. That’s fewer than two per year.

However, it’s not always consistent, he said.

“Not all years even had an EF2, many miss that, and there are several years that (Colorado) saw multiple,” Barjenbruch said.

The last time multiple strong tornadoes hit Colorado on the same day was on Aug. 8, 2023, when an EF3 and two EF2 tornadoes touched down on the Eastern Plains.

One storm dropped record-breaking, 5.25-inch hail near Yuma, roughly the size of canned yams.

The exact tracks, widths and speeds of the Bennett and Elkhorn Ranch tornadoes were not yet available Tuesday.

The tornado that touched down in northwestern Elbert County’s Elkhorn Ranch neighborhood on Sunday damaged at least 19 buildings, according to the Elizabeth Fire Protection District.

Another 17 buildings, including six homes and a solar farm, were damaged or destroyed in Bennett by a tornado that touched down three times Sunday afternoon, according to Arapahoe County Sheriff’s officials.

A tornado also touched down near Watkins, but it did not destroy property.

Barjenbruch said NWS teams on Tuesday were going back through radar data and spotter reports to determine the EF rating for that tornado and a fourth confirmed tornado somewhere between Elkhorn Ranch and Bennett.

“Sometimes tornadoes in these rural areas don’t hit anything and end up with an unknown EF rating,” he said. “If they don’t hit any trees or buildings, it’s hard to determine just how strong the tornado was.”