F0 Tornado — Curry, Oregon

2002-11-09 · near Brookings, Curry, Oregon

Event narrative

A spotter called at 1500 PST on 11/7 and reported the waterspout/tornado that occurred 9 hours earlier.

Wider weather episode

Just after 0600 PST on 11/09/02, a low-topped severe thunderstorm moved onshore east of Harbor, Oregon, and tracked east-northeast along Valley View Road. Large torpedo shaped hail approximately 3 inches long pelted Brookings and the Chetco river valley as far as 3 miles inland from Brookings. This was followed by a period of silence, after which the waterspout moved onshore and became a weak tornado. Damaged and partially removed roofs, relocated sheds, damaged fences, and damaged houses were reported for a distance of several blocks along Valley View Road. Additional damage was reported west of Highway 101 in Harbor. Large hail was collected 5 miles to the northeast of the second damaged area. Witness descriptions and a storm survey indicated a tornadic event, with vacuum effects and the very loud noise. No injuries or fatalities were reported. No indication of this storm was seen on radar, and this office was not aware of this event until 9 hours after it occurred, so obviously no warning was issued.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.0500, -124.2833)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5322558. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.