1896: When a tornado tore through Layton

Incredible downdraft winds in the late summer of 2016 downed this chainlink fence in Layton City. The winds could have been from a tornado overhead that did not actually touch down.

LAYTON was likely visited by a tornado on August 6, 1896, according to the Davis County Clipper newspaper of Aug. 14, 1896.

The report states that a “cyclone” started as waterspout in the Great Salt Lake and then moved northeasterly across the water and toward the Wasatch Mountains.

“It blew down or pulled up about forty large poplar trees on Gentile Street” and also damaged haystacks and other property. The wind broke off an eight-inch diameter tree on Elijah Ellison’s property

The tornado produced a large, intense cloud of dust and made a noise that could be heard from a mile away.

       This pine tree was uprooted by high winds in 2016 that tore through Layton City.