EF1 Tornado — Grays Harbor, Washington

2020-10-10 · near Neilton, Grays Harbor, Washington

Event narrative

A Quinault Indian Nation Fire official reported that at approximately 5:20 AM he came upon 10 downed trees (1-2.5 feet in diameter) across Moclips Highway (S-26) at approximately mile marker 18. Photographs were provided of the downed trees. Subsequent reports and imagery from a trained spotter identified additional damage approximately 0.5 miles to the northeast across a forest service road. No injuries or other impacts were reported.

An evaluation of the photographic evidence from local officials and the trained spotter combined with radar signatures from the event are consistent with a brief tornado. Based on the location and path length the tornado most likely touched down at 4:40am and lasted for less than 2 minutes, traveling 0.50 miles with a maximum width of 30 yards. The degree of tree damage is consistent with peak winds of approximately 90 MPH, rating it as an EF-1 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita scale.

Wider weather episode

A weak tornado, with estimated wind speeds of 90 MPH occurred near Neilton in Grays Harbor County, WA. The damage was limited to trees across Moclips Highway and a nearby forest service road.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (47.3688, -123.9473)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 916464. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.