3 tornadoes touched down in metro Phoenix on Friday morning, National Weather Service confirms

Chelsea Curtis | The Republic | azcentral.com

Three tornadoes touched down in metro Phoenix early Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

“I can tell you that even getting one (in Phoenix) is pretty rare and getting one from this type of weather system is not too common," Andrew Deemer, a meteorologist with NWS, said.

The first confirmed tornado occurred about 4 a.m. in the Gilbert area of Williams Field Road and the Loop 202, the agency tweeted about 7 p.m. Friday.

The second confirmed tornado occurred about the same time in the Queen Creek-area while the third occurred in the Paradise Valley-area, it added.

Although they were estimated to be weak tornadoes, the agency said each caused damage ranging from downed trees and power poles to damaged roofs.

Third tornado confirmed from this the storms this morning for the PV area. #azwx pic.twitter.com/LAzlE3Rz30 — NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) November 30, 2019

Two tornado warnings were briefly in effect early Friday morning when rain hit the Valley and snow caused freeway closures and power outages in the high country.

The agency tweeted that on May 4, 1976 and Feb. 13, 1992, three tornadoes touched down in Maricopa County each day.

Deemer said in 2010, the Flagstaff/Bellemont area had three strong tornadoes around the same time.

The Valley last had a tornado in September when one touched down around New River.

Reach the reporter at chelsea.curtis@arizonarepublic.com or follow her on Twitter @curtis_chels.

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