48 Hours of Destruction Kicks Off Northwest Rainy Season

We’re not in Kansas anymore.

It just seems like it.

That’s especially true for the residents of Manzanita, Oregon after the coastal town got hit by a rare EF-2 Tornado on Friday October 14, 2016.

Sam captured the aftermath in these photos–moments after the twister hit and tore down one-third of the downtown trees, damaged 128 homes, and sliced through the town for almost 3/4 of a mile.

 Tornado winds were 125-130mph. And here’s a map of the Manzanita tornado track. Tornado investigators from the National Weather Service Office in Portland surveyed the damage, classified the Tornado and created this map of the track. 

 Another tornado touched down on the shores of Oceanside, Oregon — the first time since 1991 Oregon had two tornadoes in a single day, according to  the National Weather Service office in Portland. They also issued a record 10 Tornado warnings in a single day! 

This wild weather Friday was followed by an intense low pressure storm off the Oregon Coast that contained leftover energy from a Typhoon. Barbara shared this photo from Happy Valley, Oregon where gusts around 50mph knocked down 10 trees in just 25 minutes!

The Portland Bureau of Transportation responded to more than 200 calls during the storm, the vast majority due to downed trees or branches. All this when the storm was actually weaker than it could have been — so we can be thankful for that much, at least.

In my 20 years of forecasting the weather in Portland, I’ve learned one things is for sure: October is a true wildcard and you never know what you’re going to get! 

In 2016, the start of the rainy season included 48 hours of destructive storms.