Severe storm brings possible tornado to Millard County, flooding to Emery County

LYNNDYL, Millard County — The National Weather Service was conducting an investigation on Sunday to determine whether a tornado touched down in Lynndyl, Millard County, on Saturday as a series of intense storms struck parts of Utah.

NWS meteorologist Alex DeSmet said it was determined winds in the area reached at least 70 to 90 mph, and potentially even 100 mph.

The storm was strong enough to rip trees out of the ground, break windows and even knocked over 34 train cars, according to Millard County Sheriff Steve O'Camb.

The extremely high winds and large-sized hail also caused significant damage to sidings and roofs of houses in the area, according to DeSmet.

Evidence such as interviews, photos, videos and a map of damaged areas were taken to help determine whether a tornado did in fact touch down in Lynndyl, DeSmet said.

After seeing the destruction caused by the storm that passed through, DeSmet said the town wouldn't be the same due to the damages investigators were seeing.

"We really saw the small town spirit of Utah, the community coming together as a whole to help one another clean up from the damages as fast as possible," DeSmet said. "We're very impressed with the residents."

Many people told investigators that the storm was the strongest they've seen in the town of Lynndyl, according to DeSmet. Some trees were also reported to have lost their leaves nearby due to less severe wind in Leamington.

Emery County deals with flooding

While Lynndyl dealt with a possible tornado on Saturday, parts of Emery County is still dealing with the aftermath of floods that hit the area over the weekend.

Parts of Carbon, Emery and Sanpete counties were under flood warnings on Saturday after the National Weather Service received reports of flooded roadways and area creeks "running very high."

Emery County Sheriff Tyson Huntington said in a Facebook post that he saw an amazing response to flooding within the county; however, the National Weather Service predicts a continuation of storms in the area for Sunday and Monday.

"Monday's storms (have) the potential to be a once-in-a-lifetime event in magnitude with periods of heavy rainfall and flash flooding... possibly worse than what we experienced on Saturday," Huntington said. "Please do what you can to protect your home and property."

Emery County residents can reach out to local towns and cities to grab sandbags in preparation for possible flooding, or the Emery County Sheriff's Office if sandbags are not available nearby, according to Huntington.

"Clean up and rehabilitation is going to take time," the sheriff said. "We are grateful to those who are helping with the work and to those volunteering their time to help fill sandbags."

The Emery County Sheriff's Office announced that a Red Cross shelter was established at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse in Orangeville for any residents displaced due to flooding.

"Keep an eye on the weather and check your weather apps and news stations for weather forecasts," Huntington said. "If we do experience another round of flooding, please avoid the flooded areas and allow first responders and crews to do their emergency work."

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