EF1 Tornado — Cowlitz, Washington

2014-10-23 · near Longview, Cowlitz, Washington

Event narrative

Law enforcement confirmed that a tornado touched down near the Safeway in Longview, WA around 1240 PM. The tornado then traveled down Vandercook Way before dissipating near Main St. There was significant roof damage to industrial buildings, minor roof damage to residential buildings, 35 to 30 large trees snapped off or blew down, some power poles downed, and automobiles damaged from debris.

Wider weather episode

A cold upper trough with vertical wind shear produced thunderstorms across Southwest Washington and Northwest Oregon. A line of intense thunderstorms was moving through the Portland Metro Area at about the same time a shower intensified over Kelso, Oregon and Longview, Washington. This thunderstorm produced tornado that touched down in Longview, Washington in the early afternoon resulting in around 1.3 miles of wind damage. A NWS Storm survey determined the damage to be consistent with an F1 tornado.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (46.1300, -122.9457)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 545155. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.