Cheyenne NWS Releases Details On Duck Creek Ranch Tornado

The Cheyenne Office of the National Weather Service says a tornado that touched down near Van Tassel on Tuesday afternoon generated wind speeds of up to 105 miles per hour.

That’s according to a post on the agency’s website.

The tornado was classified as an EF 1. According to the National Weather Service, tornadoes are classified as follows:

WeakEF0, EF1Wind speeds of 65 to 110 mph

StrongEF2, EF3Wind speeds of 111 to 165 mph

ViolentEF4, EF5Wind speeds of 166 to 200 mph or more

While Wyoming does get a fair number of tornadoes they are often relatively weak twisters, touching down in remote areas and causing few serious injuries and little to moderate property damage.

There are, of course, exceptions, such as the July 1979 tornado that hit Cheyenne. That twister killed one person and injured 40 and caused extensive property damage.

In regard to the Duck Creek Ranch Tornado, the weather service says it had a maximum width of 225 yards and a path length of 3.5 miles, with no injuries or deaths reported. It touched down just west of Van Tassel at 2:21 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the agency.