The National Weather Service issued a brief Tornado Warning for part of Clackamas County on Saturday afternoon after reports of a funnel cloud near Molalla. People in the warning area were told to take cover immediately as the alert warned of possible damage to mobile homes, roofs and vehicles.
The warning mattered because it was not triggered by radar alone. Bobby Corser said the spotter report was the reason NWS Portland issued it, after rotation showed up on radar and ground truth confirmed the threat. He said the storm spotter saw multiple funnel clouds, which helped push the warning from a weather concern to an immediate safety alert.
That was the kind of afternoon Western Oregon had been facing, with thunderstorms and hail possible across Western Oregon and Southwest Washington. NWS Portland also warned people outdoors, in a mobile home or in a vehicle to move to the closest substantial shelter, avoid windows and get to a basement or interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building.
There was another sign of how active the weather had already become. Shortly before the funnel cloud was spotted, a golfer was struck by lightning in Clackamas County, underscoring how quickly the storm environment could turn dangerous even before the tornado warning was issued.
Corser said strong showers and thunderstorms would continue for the rest of the afternoon, which means the main question for people in Clackamas County was not just whether the warning had been cancelled, but whether the next round of storms would bring the same kind of sudden threat again.
