The National Weather Service Office in Great Falls has reported that a tornado touched down near Dillon on Sunday afternoon.

Meteorologist Brian Waranauskas said a series of strong thunderstorms preceded the sighting.

"We had a thunderstorm that moved about 10 miles west of Dillon between about 12 and 12:30 this afternoon," Waranauskas said. "Here at the forecast office, we received word about a funnel cloud and then we received an email with a photo of a tornado that actually looks like it was touching the ground. The location was about 10 miles west of Dillon and about one mile north of Montana Highway 278, that's near the Badger Pass area."

Waranauskas said the tornado was only on the ground for a very brief time.

"It only touched down for a short time in an open area, so there was no damage reported, " he said. "We have preliminarily rated the tornado as an EF Zero, which is the lowest on the tornado damage scale, and we haven't yet made a decision to go out and survey it, as it is a pretty open area, so there may not be much to look at as far as damage."

The photo is courtesy of KDBM/KBEV Radio in Dillon

 

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