F2 Tornado — Yamhill and Washington, Oregon

1993-12-08 · Yamhill and Washington, Oregon

Event narrative

The powerful storm that caused high winds across Oregon also spawned the most powerful tornado in the state in many years. The tornado occurred as the coldfront associated with a deep surface low along the coast moved across the Willamette Valley in mid-afternoon. The tornado touched down southeast of Newburg and heavily damaged a dairy farm, toppling large trees, killing six veal calves, and destroying calf shelters. The tornado then proceeded northeasterly to a horseranch, where roofs were blown off some small buildings and extensive damage was done by flying debris, including some very large trees that were snapped off and uprooted. The tornado next damaged the roof of a house and some nearby structures and then crossed the Willamette River. Passing motorists reported seeing the funnel sucking water up from the river. After uprooting more trees and damaging a mobile home, the tornado apparently skipped a few miles northeast where it touched down near a mobile home park and caused extensive damage to mobile homes there. Near the northern end of the twisters path a tree at least 24 inches in diameter was snapped off six feet above ground and, along with other debris, hit a two story home and moved it off its foundation. Incredibly, no one was injured.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 10343935. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.