Utah, 2002Tornado in Utah, September 12, 2002
September 12, 2002 · NWS SLC · 1 event in 1 county or zone
1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
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- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Salt Lake City, UT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 12, 9:40 AM MST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 12, 9:40 AM MST, 1 hour 15 minutes before
UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
1040 AM MDT THU SEP 12 2002
.SYNOPSIS...AN UPPER LOW WILL SLOWLY MOVE THROUGH THE AREA TODAY
AND INTO THE PLAINS ON FRIDAY. DEEP MOISTURE WILL REMAIN OVER THE
AREA THROUGH TONIGHT WITH DRYING FROM THE NORTHWEST ON FRIDAY.
.DISCUSSION...VERY MOIST AIRMASS OVER UTAH. UPPER LOW CIRCULATION
CENTERED JUST WEST OF PRICE PER RADAR MOSAIC. LOW TOPPED HEAVY RAIN
PRODUCING STORMS NEAR MILFORD AND FILLMORE. ONE RAWS PICKED UP .60
IN ONE HOUR NEAR FILLMORE THIS MORNING. ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WATCH
MOST OF SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA AND EXTENDING NORTH TO COVER
THE RECENT BURN AREAS IN UTAH COUNTY. NO FURTHER UPDATES PLANNED
THIS MORNING.
SLC 642 CDC 641 GIBSON
.SLC...FFASLC...FLASH FLOOD WATCH SOUTHWEST AND WEST-CENTRAL UTAH
UNTIL 1000 PM.Tornado, Sanpete
- When
- September 12, 10:55 AM MST to 10:56 AM MST
- Where
- Sanpete County, Ephraim
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.1 mi
- Path width
- 10 yd
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 39.374, -111.576 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A small tornado (F0) was observed just west of Ephraim in Sanpete County. The tornado moved slowly to the northeast over open country before dissipating. This tornado remained on the ground for only a few seconds, but the funnel cloud was visible for about 10 minutes.
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Flash Flood in Utah, September 12, 2002$3.1 million · 1 event
- Flash Flood in Utah, September 12, 2002$500,000 · 1 event
- Tropical Storm in Florida, September 12 to 14, 2002$100,000 · 6 events
- Tropical Storm in Alabama, September 12 to 14, 2002$90,000 · 4 events
- Hail and Damaging Wind in New Mexico, September 12, 2002$35,000 · 1 in hail · 5 events
- Flash Flood in New Mexico, September 12, 2002$40,000 · 1 event
- Flash Flood in Utah, September 12, 2002$25,000 · 1 event
- Flash Flood in Colorado, September 12, 2002$25,000 · 1 event
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, September 12, 20022 injured · $5,000 · 1 event
- Flash Flood in Utah, September 12, 2002$20,000 · 1 event
- Tornado and Hail in Colorado, September 12, 2002F0 · 7 events
- High Wind in Alaska, September 12 to 14, 20023 events
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5325455.