The National Weather Service issued a brief tornado warning weather alert for part of Clackamas County on Saturday afternoon after a funnel cloud was reported near Molalla. Bobby Corser, a Storm Tracker 2 Digital Meteorologist, said the warning followed a storm spotter report that gave NWS Portland ground-level confirmation.
NWS Portland told people to take cover now and move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. It also warned that damage to mobile homes, roofs, and vehicles should be expected, and said people outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle should move to the closest substantial shelter and protect themselves from flying debris.
Molalla and Clackamas County
Corser said, "The spotter report was the reason why NWS Portland issued the warning." He also said, "We detected rotation on the radar, but the ground truth confirmed it." That combination explains why the warning was short but urgent: radar showed movement aloft, while the report near Molalla described what was happening at the surface.
NWS Portland said a storm spotter saw multiple funnel clouds. The warning covered only part of Clackamas County, so the practical step for people in the warned area was to move immediately to substantial shelter rather than wait to see whether the cloud would touch down.
Western Oregon and Southwest Washington
The warning came during a period when thunderstorms and hail were possible in Western Oregon and Southwest Washington. Corser said, "We will continue to see strong showers and thunderstorms for the rest of the afternoon," which put the warning in the middle of a wider severe-weather period rather than as an isolated report.
A golfer was struck by lightning in Clackamas County shortly before the funnel cloud was spotted. The two events were separate reports in the same afternoon, but together they show the kind of fast-changing weather that can move from lightning to funnel cloud reports within the same stretch of time.
NWS Portland updates
The National Weather Service said updates would be posted as information came in. For people in the warned area, the immediate action was shelter, not waiting for a later update, since the warning was already brief and based on both radar rotation and a storm spotter report from the ground.
