By Brian Donegan
- An EF3 tornado touched down near Gillette, Wyoming, on Friday. (click here)
- Significant damage was observed in the Oriva Hills subdivision, where two were injured.
- The last EF3/F3 or stronger tornado to occur in Wyoming was in 1987.
A rare EF3 tornado touched down in Wyoming Friday afternoon, the first time an EF3/F3 or stronger tornado has been confirmed in the state since 1987.
The twister touched down around 1:44 p.m. MDT some 10 miles west-northwest of Gillette, Wyoming. It was on the ground for approximately eight minutes as it traveled in an east-northeast direction over the Oriva Hills subdivision, the National Weather Service said.
This was only the 10th EF3/F3 or stronger tornado to tear through Wyoming in records dating to 1950, according to NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information. The last occurrence was nearly 31 years ago on July 21, 1987, when an F4 tornado touched down in Teton County, Wyoming.
The tornado sirens were activated but did not function properly, the Campbell County government wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday....
