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. The warning came after a storm spotter saw multiple funnel clouds, and the alert told residents in the affected area to take cover immediately.
Bobby Corser said the spotter report was the reason NWS Portland issued the warning. He said radar detected rotation and the ground truth confirmed it, which is why the weather alert moved so quickly from a report to a warning. The warning language said damage to mobile homes, roofs and vehicles was possible, along with the usual instruction to move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building.
The timing made the warning land in the middle of a wider stretch of active weather. Thunderstorms and hail were possible in Western Oregon and Southwest Washington, and Corser said strong showers and thunderstorms were expected for the rest of the afternoon. Before the funnel cloud was spotted, a golfer was struck by lightning in Clackamas County, a reminder that the storm was already dangerous even before the Tornado Warning was issued.
What the warning did not settle was whether the funnel clouds became a confirmed tornado. The report and radar rotation were enough for NWS Portland to act, but the public record in this case stops short of saying where, or whether, anything touched down. For residents in part of Clackamas County, that left the immediate question less about labels and more about staying inside until the weather moved on.
