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The storms began early in the afternoon and moved north toward Portland, which saw strong winds, heavy rain and a lightning show at rush hour. Several cities saw golf-ball sized hail and there were unconfirmed reports of funnel clouds and tornado activity.
The National Weather Service lifted a severe thunderstorm watch early Thursday evening. The watch was expected to stay in effect until 9 p.m., but the storms were quicker than expected.
Power outages were reported across the storm area. Portland General Electric said about 50,000 of its customers had no lights as of 6 p.m. The utility said the hardest-hit areas were in Salem, Silverton, Woodburn, West Linn and Oregon City.
Temperatures were in the mid-70s in the Willamette Valley when the storm hit, but quickly dropped into the lower 60s. Dan Keirns, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland, said the storm was the type usually seen midsummer, not late spring.
Intense thunderstorms pounded Central and Western Oregon Thursday, toppling trees and knocking out power, but apparently causing no serious injuries.
The storms began early in the afternoon and moved north toward Portland, which saw strong winds, heavy rain and a lightning show at rush hour. Several cities saw golf-ball sized hail and there were unconfirmed reports of funnel clouds and tornado activity.
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Power outages were reported across the storm area. Portland General Electric said about 50,000 of its customers had no lights as of 6 p.m. The utility said the hardest-hit areas were in Salem, Silverton, Woodburn, West Linn and Oregon City.
Temperatures were in the mid-70s in the Willamette Valley when the storm hit, but quickly dropped into the lower 60s. Dan Keirns, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland, said the storm was the type usually seen midsummer, not late spring.
© unknownIn Salem, firefighters battled a lightning fire in a vacant house. The house owner, Mr. Joseph Abood, had been in the process of moving out of the house when lightning struck.
© Olivia Bucks/The OregonianA building on SW Main was damaged when the wind blew a tree out of the ground as a big storm system moved through the Willamette Valley Thursday, June 4, 2009, with lightning, thunder, rain and wind bringing down trees.
© Fredrick D. Joe/The OregonianCarly Jayne (far left) tells a passer-by how she was nearly hit by the top of a 70-foot tree that broke off and fell onto SW Salmon Street in the Park Blocks.
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Probably just debris or a bird or a photo defect, but the last picture looks like a UFO in the upper right quadrant.