Farmer Jessica Daves was changing out irrigation water when she saw the funnel clouds form along the Montezuma-Dolores county line.
"It was real calm, then it got real windy, and I saw them above the farm. Soon after, it began to hail," she said. "It was pretty crazy."
The largest funnel looked like it might touch ground, thereby becoming a tornado.
"It was trying, with dirt kicking up from the ground below the funnel above," Daves said. "After five minutes, it had dissipated."
After hearing the report, the National Weather Service issued a significant weather advisory for the area, said Jim Pringle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.
"There were two good storms at that time in that area with high winds and hail," he said.
Funnel clouds become tornadoes after they touch ground. Pringle said they are caused by low-level wind shear that gets caught in the updraft of the thunderstorm, causing the clouds to rotate.
"That will sometimes cause funnel clouds or tornadoes, and other times it does not," he said.
There have been three tornadoes documented in western Colorado and eastern Utah this year, according to the weather service.
On June 6, one hit in San Juan County, Utah; on June 15, one touched down northeast of Vernal, Utah; and on July 9, a tornado touched down near the Powderhorn Ski resort at 8,500 feet, wiping out an aspen grove.
There have been three documented tornadoes in Montezuma County since 1970, according to the weather service.
On July 18, 2011, one was reported near Towaoc, breaking apart a cottonwood tree. On April 25, 1985, an F2 Category tornado touched down 15 miles southeast of Cortez and tracked for one mile. It caused $25,000 in damage. On Sept. 5, 1970, an F2 tornado touched down 8 miles south of Cortez and tracked for two miles, causing $25,000 in damage.
jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com