WILLIAMS, Arizona — Mother nature kicked up quite a bit of weather activity Monday. The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado tore through a northern Arizona community.
At least 10 homes were damaged by the twister that formed north of Williams, shutting down parts of state road 64 near Junipine Estates, roughly eight miles north of Williams.
Meanwhile, closer to the valley, parts of I-17 were closed and tens-of-thousands were without power because of the storms.
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Kharissa Haycox was staying at the La Quinta with her family when the strong winds picked up, causing a giant Denny’s sign to fall. The sign split completely off its foundation, damaging three cars.
“It's not even just broken, the whole thing is out of the ground. We were just like what happened, we didn't think the wind was strong enough, the whole pole came out of the ground.” Haycox described.
That nasty dust storm ripped through the area near SR 64 and Thomas, taking the marquee with it.
“We heard a really loud boom and next thing we know "Denny's" is on the ground. We're definitely glad no one was in the cars but that does suck for the car owners. It's like one of those where you just look at it and go oh crap, what do I do now, hopefully, insurance covers it.”
Crews were already on-site, getting to work on fixing the damage done to that sign, and plan to get it back up soon.
Arizona Weather
Drought, wildfires, heat and monsoon storms: Arizona has seen its fair share of severe weather. Learn everything you need to know about the Grand Canyon State's ever-changing forecasts here: