A powerful storm — described by officials and local media as a possible tornado — swept through Heber-Overgaard in Navajo County, northeastern Arizona, on Wednesday evening, damaging homes, knocking down power poles and cutting electricity to parts of the community. At least one person was injured, according to local officials cited by FOX 10 Phoenix and AZFamily.
Source: FOX 10 Phoenix
The National Weather Service office in Flagstaff issued a tornado warning at 6:36 p.m. MST on Wednesday for parts of Coconino and Navajo counties, saying a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located west of Heber-Overgaard and moving northeast. The warning covered State Route 260 between mile markers 300 and 303 and warned that flying debris would be dangerous and mobile homes could be damaged or destroyed.
Source: National Weather Service, Flagstaff
Residents described a sudden burst of violent wind and flying debris lasting less than a minute. The Navajo County Sheriff's Office said it was responding to a major incident in the Overgaard area and urged people to avoid State Route 260 between Mogollon and the Overgaard Airpark, as well as areas north of State Route 377. Navopache Electric Cooperative reported outages, but gave no estimate of how many customers were affected or when power would be restored.
Source: AZFamily (KPHO)
State Representative Walt Blackman described the damage as considerable and called on Governor Katie Hobbs to declare a state of emergency in Navajo County so state resources could be deployed without waiting for formal structure counts. He said the immediate priorities were restoring power, clearing blocked roads, assisting displaced residents and securing state aid, and that he planned to visit the area on Thursday.
Source: FOX 10 Phoenix
One resident, Betty Nixon, told reporters the wind and debris battered her home for roughly 30 to 45 seconds, that she took cover on the floor with her dogs, and that a large section of a neighbour's tree landed in her yard while another neighbour's windows reportedly shattered.
Source: Focal News Phoenix
The National Weather Service has not confirmed that a tornado touched down; survey teams typically assess damage before making that call. The storm was part of a rare statewide severe-weather outbreak that brought golf-ball-sized hail, damaging winds and Arizona's first tornado watches since October 2010. Crews were continuing damage assessments on Thursday, and officials urged residents to stay clear of downed power lines and damaged buildings.