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F2 tornado in Yamhill and Washington County, Oregon

Tornado December 8, 1993 · Yamhill and Washington County, Oregon

F2
Rating
6.0 mi
Path length
120 yd
Path width
$6
Damage as recorded
What F2 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F2 meant considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted; the scale paired it with winds of 113–157 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

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 10343935. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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