National Weather Service upgrades tornado in Fresno County to EF1

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Friday, January 18, 2019
Authorities confirm tornado touched down in Fresno
The NWS has confirmed that a tornado touched down in the area of Herndon and Academy in Fresno on Thursday.

FRESNO, Calif. -- UPDATE: The National Weather Service has upgraded the tornado in Fresno County to EF1, the wind reached up to speeds of 86 mph.

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The NWS confirms a tornado was in Fresno on Thursday.

A photo from ABC7's sister station ABC30 shows what appears to be a funnel cloud.

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A funnel cloud is a rotating funnel-shaped cloud and only differs from a tornado because it has not touched down, according to the NWS.

The NWS analyzed the picture of the funnel cloud and determined it had touched down briefly and was a tornado.

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It is in the weakest category of tornadoes - EF 0 - and there were no reports of anyone having been hurt.

It appears an outbuilding may have been damaged. A close look at some video of the tornado shows that debris was swept up and flying within it.

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