Thunderstorm Wind in Jefferson County, Oregon

A concentrated swath of destructive straight line winds affected the Culver and Metolius areas of Jefferson County. Within this swath there were numerous large trees uprooted and snapped, hundreds of yards of irrigation line dislodged and/or mangled, and several snapped power poles. Some of the most significant damage included destruction of a handful of agricultural out buildings and partial or total roof removals of at least two manufactured homes.

A major severe weather event by Pacific Northwest standards occurred over central and northeast Oregon and southeast Washington on May 30th. A powerful upper level storm system moved across the area during the afternoon and evening helping to trigger severe thunderstorms. The airmass was unusually unstable for this area of the country with surface dewpoints well into the 60s. With strong upper level winds in place the stage was set for numerous fast moving intense storms through the afternoon and early evening. Numerous reports of large hail and damaging winds were received with most of the hail falling in central Oregon. There were multiple reports of significant hail (2 inch in diameter) and winds in excess of 75 mph. Winds were estimated as high as 115 mph in Wasco County, OR.