Rare Great Basin Tornado, Salt Lake City, August 11, 1999

On August 11, 1999, a rare (F2) tornado touched down in a highly populated area of Salt Lake City, and proceeded to cut a path of destruction through Downtown and then up a hill to the State Capital building, down into a ravine, up another hill and through a highly populated residential area, damaging over 100 homes. Several things about this event were unusual to say the least. This informative presentation will detail the path of the tornado and show why mountains may not always protect you from nature's deadliest storm. Sterling Poulson, T.V. weather anchor will show the Television broadcast side of the event, being the first live report on the air, and David Toronto of the Salt Lake National Weather Service Forecast Office, will analyze the storm from a meteorlogical standpoint.