A tornado touched down just outside of Seattle, Washington on Tuesday afternoon, causing significant damage in the Seattle suburb of Port Orchard.
https://twitter.com/WeatherNation/status/1075176326699442176
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According to the local county (Kitsap County) sheriff, "catastrophic damage" was observed from the rare tornado. Authorities are also urging residents to avoid downed power lines, and local gas companies are checking supply lines for possible damage.
https://twitter.com/KitsapCoSheriff/status/1075170840461766656
The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Seattle confirmed that a tornado did touch down and caused the damage in Port Orchard.
https://twitter.com/NWSSeattle/status/1075189545161908225
As of this posting, no injuries have been reported from the tornado, despite it moving through a relatively densely populated area. Several area roads are closed due to the damage.
Tornadoes are extremely rare in Washington. The most recent significant (EF2 or above) tornado in the state took place more than 30 years ago, back in 1986.
The storm system that produced this tornado is part of a series of strong systems affecting the Pacific Northwest, with heavy rain at the coast and significant snow at higher elevations. More rain and snow will move through the region through mid-to-late week, with several more rounds of heavy rain and mountain snow set to move through the area later this week.
Stay with WeatherNation for the latest on this story.
For WeatherNation: Meteorologist Chris Bianchi