PROWERS COUNTY, Colo. – Multiple structures were destroyed in southeastern Colorado, including a family home, after a tornado touched down in the area Friday afternoon, according to county officials.
Severe thunderstorms in the area on Friday afternoon produced “at least one tornado that touched down 15 miles south of the Town of Granada,” Prowers County commissioners said in a news release. The town is located about 18 miles east of Lamar.
The Prowers County Sheriff’s Office received reports of property damage following the tornado and deputies who responded to that location confirmed that multiple structures, including a home, were “completely destroyed by the tornado.”
“Fortunately, the family in the home took shelter in their basement and have reported no injuries,” county commissioners said in a news release.
The tornado also destroyed multiple outbuildings and vehicles, the sheriff's office said late Friday night, adding eight cows were also killed in the tornado's path.
Power is out in some parts of the county, notably in and around Granada, and crews were working to make those repairs as soon as they could safely do so.
The National Weather Service in Pueblo tweeted Friday night that the agency would be performing a damage survey on Saturday, and that further updates about its path and preliminary rating would be released once they are able to further study the damage caused by the weather event.
On Saturday, the agency announced an NWS team completed their preliminary damage survey of Friday’s storm and rated the tornado an EF-3.
Friday's tornado one of several reported this week across the Eastern Plains
Friday’s tornado in southeastern Colorado was one of several reported in the Eastern Plains since Wednesday.
Earlier this week, a tornado touched down west of Sterling, destroying a house, garage and trees around the property. A day later, another destructive tornado hit Highlands Ranch in the Denver metro area.
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One to four additional tornadoes broke out around Logan and Washington counties on Wednesday, according to National Weather Service officials.
