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Weather service confirms last week’s storms produced a second Utah tornado

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Weather service confirms last week’s storms produced a second Utah tornado


JENSEN, Uintah County — A severe thunderstorm system that produced a rare mountain tornado in Davis County last week also produced a small tornado near the Utah-Colorado border as it passed through the state, federal meteorologists have confirmed.

About 5 p.m. on Friday, a “brief and weak” tornado touched down between Jensen and Dinosaur, Colorado, the National Weather Service’s Grand Junction, Colorado office wrote in a preliminary incident report on Tuesday. The office handles weather alerts and reports within eastern Utah.

“The tornado did not cause any damage and lasted a few minutes,” the agency wrote in its report. “The tornado was witnessed by several members of the public.”

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Meteorologists rated it an EF-U on the Enhanced Fujita Scale because of the lack of damage and other limitations, meaning that its peak wind speeds, path length and other characteristics are unknown.

The agency had issued a severe thunderstorm warning and flash flood warning for the area Friday evening, but no tornado warning.

It touched down approximately three hours after a much larger tornado formed over in the mountains east of Fruit Heights on Friday. The twister knocked down numerous trees and snapped some in half, leaving a path of destruction about 100 to 200 yards wide and well over a mile long.

KSL meteorologists have toured the site and estimate it could have reached peak wind speeds of 100 mph or more, which would register it at least an EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale or higher.

“You could tell that this thing was packing quite a bit of wind, and there was quite a bit of debris within the wind because the trees were kind of scarred up and tangled up,” said KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson.

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Weather service meteorologists in Salt Lake City’s office told KSL on Monday that they expect to release a preliminary report by next week, as they continue to review the damage.

Friday’s tornadoes double the number that have been confirmed from storm rotation this year, following one that touched down in Rich County in April and another that touched down in Tooele County last month. Both of those were rated as EF-1 in strength, peaking at 100 mph.

Utah also had one “firenado” this year, which formed from fire activity at the Widemouth 2 Fire as it burned in Millard County in July.

The state typically averages two tornadoes per year, but the 2026 count now matches what was reported last year. Meteorologists believe that improved radar technology, more video recording accessibility and easier access to remote places may help find tornadoes as they form.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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Utah lawmaker pushes for more state guardrails on automatic license plate readers

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Utah lawmaker pushes for more state guardrails on automatic license plate readers


A Utah lawmaker is planning another run for more state guardrails on automatic license plate readers, including Flock cameras.

But finding the sweet spot in regulation — like new ALPR technology — may be a moving target.

Kristen Chevrier, R-Utah County, wants to preserve Utahns’ right to privacy.

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MORE | Flock Cameras

“I think it’s very urgent because the technology is not stopping,” she said.

Rep. Chevrier tried, but could not pass tighter state oversight of ALPRs.

Now, she thinks the cameras can read more than your plate.

“What’s out there that could be tacked onto an ALPR?” 2News asked.

“So we know that there is bullet detection,” she said. “The problem is it’s not always a bullet.”

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Rep. Chevrier said the cameras may pick up conversations or individuals who are walking past them.

The Utah Privacy Governing Board voiced other concerns at a Capitol meeting, including hacking of license plate readers and where to draw the surveillance line.

“The reports that are out there right now are mainly that they’ve disassembled the cameras and figured out how they worked,” Steve McCown, Utah Privacy Commission, said.

“At what point do we say, ‘This is where our line in the sand is, and we don’t want to be surveilled past that point?’” Conner Radcliff, Utah Civic Compact, said.

Another question, with no exact answer yet, is just how many ALPRs there are across the state.

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The Utah Privacy Commission may make recommendations on ALPRs, their data, and your privacy in just a week.

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How attend or volunteer at the Bank of Utah Championship

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How attend or volunteer at the Bank of Utah Championship


Golf fans can experience PGA TOUR action in Southern Utah this fall as the Bank of Utah Championship returns to Black Desert Resort October 1–4, 2026.

Set against the red rock landscape of Greater Zion, the tournament brings top-level golf to the world-class Black Desert course, along with a variety of experiences for fans.

Visitors can choose from daily passes, hospitality options and VIP experiences while enjoying the tournament and exploring everything the resort has to offer.

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Beyond the competition, the event gives visitors another reason to make a trip to Southern Utah, with opportunities to enjoy golf, dining, outdoor adventure and the scenery surrounding Black Desert Resort.

For more information visit bankofutahchampionship.com

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Utah postal worker dumped 300 mail ballots in trash during state primary, DOJ says

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Utah postal worker dumped 300 mail ballots in trash during state primary, DOJ says


The Justice Department has arrested a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier in Utah who allegedly threw out more than 300 mail ballots that were being sent to voters for the state’s June primary.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said Damon Matai Seei, 34, was arrested Tuesday and appeared in federal court in Salt Lake City to be arraigned. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Seei had an attorney.

Seei was delivering mail in Eagle Mountain, Utah, when he threw the ballots and other mail into a dumpster in a church parking lot not long after his shift started, McCotter said.

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It’s not clear what the motive was, but Melissa Holyoak, the U.S. attorney for Utah, said Seei indicated to authorities that there was no political agenda.

The investigation remains ongoing, officials said.

Most voters in Utah cast ballots by mail. Nationwide, nearly a third of voters use mail-in ballots.

The Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump's attempts to impose new Postal Service rules earlier this month
The Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s attempts to impose new Postal Service rules earlier this month (AP)

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s attempts to impose new Postal Service rules that would have restricted mail voting for the November midterm elections.

In response, Trump wrote on social media: “This Supreme Court is bullied and cajoled by the Radical Left into making decisions that have set America back at least a hundred years.”

“These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court, they are merely a shell of their original selves,” he continued, without naming any of the justices. “It is a Court that will go down as having rendered some of the most destructive, hurtful, and damaging decisions in our Country’s history.”

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Trump appointed three justices — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — during his first term as president, building a 6-3 conservative majority and allowing the court to steer a dramatic rightward course since 2020.

The court’s decision preventing implementation of the rule, which the Postal Service adopted at the president’s direction, was brief and unsigned, as is typical when it handles emergency requests. Trump called it a “horrible, highly political, ruling.”

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters later that the Trump administration would comply with the court’s decision.



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