By Lauren Masters
Thunderstorms and high winds swept through Utah County Monday, June 9, resulting in power outages and a tornado that briefly touched down in Payson.
The storm caused minor property damage but no injuries, said Lt. Bill Wright from the sheriff''s office. A vinyl fence spanning half a block bore the brunt of the tornado''s force.
'A large area of thunderstorms moving through Utah County was strong enough to produce a very minimal tornado,' said James Nelson of the National Weather Service.
The tornado touched down at 4:19 p.m. and traveled west down Main Street. Payson police officer Scott Taylor verified the rotation as he watched the tornado touch down.
'He watched the mass move through the field and said it had the look of a tornado,' Nelson said.
Gusts of wind in Payson reached up to 50 mph, but a maximum wind speed was not reported, said Nelson. Because the tornado only lasted a minute, no measurements were taken.
The force of the tornado also lifted an aluminum boat parked on its trailer, Nelson said.
Lt. Wright said damage was mostly limited to the vinyl fence, but individual items had also been affected by the strong winds.
'It was very sporadic,' Lt. Wright said. 'I saw a bench swing that looked like it had been picked up and thrown around, and the vehicle Officer Taylor was in sustained some damage.'
Because the damage was limited, the city had no official response but was in contact with the Red Cross in case injuries were reported, Wright said.
Other cities in Utah County were affected as well.
Winds caused power outages in Goshen and Elberta when tree limbs hit power lines, said Kimball Hansen, a spokesman for Utah Power. About 340 customers in Goshen and 115 in Elberta were left without power for an hour.
In Provo, Provo Utilities said two power poles were struck by lightning during the storm.
A weekly weather forecast by the National Weather Service reported a chance of thunderstorms through Thursday and cloudy skies through Saturday.
The chance that another tornado could appear depends on the storm, Nelson said, although he has only seen two tornados in Utah County while working for the National Weather Service.